Iiiiiiiiiiiiiilliitliiiiiiiiiiilililiiulliiiikii •smxe ^. ■^^ ^{ t\u ®hfoIogjfi,/ ^ *''ii. Shelf. '%, iK. PRINCETON, N. J. BR 745^ .C47 1851 Chronicles of the ancient British church, previous to r ^' Z -V *<' Acy C^ ^-^^^^^ ■NSC' Shelf. jr— r ^. •^ Shelf. m CljrnnirlfH nf tje >.. '^^<-' "^ximm tn {\t ;lrriintl n! It. ingnstinB. 'The Ancient British Cliurcli, by whomsoever planted, was a stranger to the Bishop of Rome, atiii his pretended authority." — Jndge Blackstone. % /I - ie.^o-i-un this subject, too often dismiss it with a few passing re- marks, and begin their notices of ecclesiastical afl'airs with the mission of St. Augustine at the close of the sixth century. It is acknowledged that Hume took very little trouble to examine ancient records containinof the earlier accounts of this island, his PREFACE. V aim being rather to make out a pleasing narrative than to ascer- tain facts. This, observes Mr. Burke, he had discovered in con- sequence of having, in some degree, gone over the same ground himself. On one occasion, indeed, Hume himself, being pushed pretty hard in conversation, acknowledged to Boswell that he had not paid much attention to the older historians on controverted points ; he had merely dipped into them ; for little, he thought, w^s to be gained by a minute examination.* Hume is also said to have turned aside with terror from the presses containing original documents, when they were thrown open for his use in the com- pilation of his history; and to have retreated in haste to the sofa, upon which the greatest part of his brilliant and popular work was composed. In the writings of our old chroniclers — with all their blunders and faults — we discover a disposition to acknowledge the doctrine of a Divine Providence, as well as to trace and investi- gate God's dealings with his church; but in those of Hume there is an entire absence of religious feeling, and we look in vain for any thing of higher stature or diviner mould than what belongs to this world. If we ask for bread, he will give us a stone. The materials of British Church history anterior to the Saxon era are exceedingly scanty ; a few brief notices, therefore, of the sources whence may be obtained the most credible accounts re- specting it, may be acceptable to such as feel an interest in eccle- siastical and historical studies, and who are anxious to pursue their researches into the original sources of information. The earliest British historian is GiLDAS THE WiSE, who flourished at a time when the Britons had been driven by the Saxons to the western parts of the island. He is supposed to have been born in the year 520, of a Bardic family and connexion, and to have received his early education at the college of Lantwit Major, Glamorganshire. In his work he feelingly deplores the miserable state of his country, and declaims severely against the vices and habits of both clergy and laity. The numerous quotations * Prior's Life of Burke. PREFACE. he lias given from the Old and New Testaments, lead us to infer that their contents were dee^ily studied in the early British colleges. The next work in point of time is "The Histoky of the Britons," attributed to Nennius. Some obscurity hangs over the name of this author. From the Prologue it appears to have been written in the year 858 ; although Bale and other writers consider 620 as the correct date. Nennius styles himself the disciple of St. Albotus, and says that he compiled it "partly from traditions of our ancestors, partly from writings and monu- ments of the ancient inhabitants of Britain, partly from the annals of the Romans and the chronicles of the sacred fathers, Isidore, Jerome, Prosper, Eusebius, and from the histories of the Scots and Saxons." In 1819, the Rev. W. Gunn, rector of Irstead, Norfolk, published an English translation, with the Latin original, under the following title : " The Historia Brittonum, commonly attributed to Nennius; from a manuscript lately discovered in the library of the Vatican Palace at Rome : edited in the tenth century by Mark the Hermit, with an English version, fac-simile of the original, notes and illustrations." The work consists of sixty-six chapters, or rather paragraphs, and in this limited com- pass the writer includes the remains of the earliest history of the Britons from the arrival of Brutus the Trojan to the subjugation of the island by the Saxons. The Welsh have a very singular collection of historical facts, called The Triads, or metrical triplets: three events, which have an analogy in some point or other, being arranged together. These Cambro- British fragments allude to circumstances connected with the first population and early history of the island, of vv^hich every other memorial has perished. Some are historical, whilst others are ethical, legal, and theological. Mr. Vaughan, the antiquary of Hengurt, refers them to the seventh century ; and they have been noticed with respect by Camden. They were published in 1801, by the munificence of Mr. Owen Jones, and have since been edited by Mr. Probert, and their genuineness elaborately vindicated by Mr. PREFACE. Sharon Turner, and the editors of the Myvyrian Archaiology. The only other remains still extant of ancient Welsh literature consist of Bruts, or Chronicles, in the form of regular histories, and the poems of the Bards. No work, however, to which the title of a history or a chronicle can properly be assigned, appeared until the era of the venerable Bede, Avho compiled his Ecclesiastical History a short time before his death, a. d. 731. Bede was the light and wonder of his age, and, as one of our earliest annalists, is perhaps the most trustworthy and faithful which any country in a similar state of cultivation ever possessed. His writings fill eight folio volumes, which are usually bound in three, and contain more matter than would be comprised in twenty modern quartos. The historical portion is but a small part, one volume of the eight. In the dedication prefixed to his Ecclesiastical History he removes all uncer- tainty with respect to his materials, the authorities being quoted with most scrupulous exactness. These he obtained partly from chronicles, partly from annals preserved in contemporary monas- teries, and partly from the information of prelates with whom he was acquainted. He deputed Nothelm, a priest of the church of London, and afterwards archbishop of Canterbury, to search the papal archives at Rome, and to copy the epistles of St. Gregory and other prelates for his work. As to civil transactions he has followed Gildas and Marcellinus ; and in geographical and natural accounts, Pliny and Orosius. . Besides the foregoing works, which may be considered the primary sources of our early history, the Chronicles which ap- peared during the middle ages may be perused with advantage. The writers of them treated history as every other branch of human knowledge then cultivated was treated — in connexion with religion. One of the earliest is the British History of Geoffrey of Monmouth, who was, as he asserts, merely a translator of an ancient British chronicle. The writings of Giraldus Cambrensis, another learned Welshman, are extremely numerous, "many of PREFACE. which," says Warton, "are written with some degree of elegance." Next follow the works of William of Malmesbury, Henry of Huntingdon, Roger de Hovenden, William of Newburgh, and Florence of Worcester, in all of whom some fragmentary notices of our early ecclesiastical history may be gleaned. Some of the details respecting the early British Church are doubtless fabulous; but industry and erudition have, of late, elucidated many of the once rejected legends: ancient British learning has been cultivated with patriotic zeal ; societies have been formed for printing in- edited manuscripts, and to render accessible whatever is valuable amongst the materials for the civil and ecclesiastical history of the United Kingdom; many ancient documents have been brought to light; and what is probable has been separated from what is hopelessly obscure. Many of the later divines of the English Church have illus- trated by their researches the early Church history of our country ; those deserving particular mention are Archbishop Ussher, Bishop Stillingfleet, and Bishop Lloyd. Ussher's work "De Primordiis Ecclesiarum Britannicarum," was subsequently published under the title of " Britannicarum Ecclesiarum Antiquitates," and is so great a treasure of historical research, that, as Dr. Parr justly remarks, " all that have written since with any success on this subject must own themselves beholding to him for his elaborate collections." In liis " Discourse on the Religion anciently professed by the Irish and British," he has given numerous extracts from the writings of the eai-ly British and Irish saints, shewing their agreement in doctrine and discipline with the Reformed Church of England. Bishop Stillingflcet's " Origines Britannicai : or, the Antiquities of the British Church," is the most complete and learned work on the subject, containing a full account of the early ecclesiastical history of Britain, from the first introduction of Christianity to the con- version of the Saxons. He rejects many of the traditions respect- ing the British Church, but is disposed to believe in the visit of St. Paul to this countiy. Bishop IJoyd ])ublished an "Historical Account of Church Government as it was in Great Britain and Ireland when they first received the Christian Religion." The occasion of his writing this work, he states, "arose from the arguments against episcopal government drawn from the example of the ancient Scottish church," and the celebrated Culdees of lona, whom Blonde!, Selden, Baxter, and others, imagined to have observed the presbyterian rule of church government. These three illustrious prelates have ^been followed, during the present century, on the same subject, by Bishop Burgess, Dr. Hales, and the Rev. Rice Rees, of the English, Irish, and Welsh churches ; whose works may be consulted with much advantage. The title pre- fixed to Bishop Burgess's miscellaneous fragments will best explain their object: "Tracts on the Origin and Independence of the Ancient British Church; on the Supremacy of the Pope, and the Inconsistency of all Foreign Jurisdiction with the British Constitution ; and on the Differences between the Churches of England and Rome." The substance of these Tracts subsequently appeared in "A Discourse delivered at the Anniversary Meeting of the Royal Society of Literature, April 20th, 1830," of which his lordship was president. His arguments for the visit of St. Paul to Britain have a considerable degree of probability; but on this disputed point he is opposed by Dr. Hales, who confesses that on this particular matter of history he is compelled to differ with the most learned antiquaries, ancient and modern, such as Parker, Camden, TJssher, Stillingfleet, Cave, Gibson, Nelson, Rowland, and Roberts. Dr. Hales's work is entitled " An Essay on the Origin and Purity of the Primitive Church of the British Isles, and its Independence upon the Church of Rome." He refers the introduction of Christianity into Britain to Bran, the father of Caractacus, dm-ing the apostolic age; and ably proves by several quotations from the writmgs of the early British and Irish authors, that the doctrines of the primitive church of Britain were very different from those of the present church of Rome. In this he follows up with great success the course pursued by Archbishop Ussher, in his "Discourse on the Religion anciently professed by b PREFACE. the Irish and British." The last work I'eqiiiring some notice is " An Essay on tlie Welsh Saints, or the Primitive Christians usnally considered to have been the Founders of Churches in Wales." By the Rev. Rice Rees. The writer's object has been to construct out of the ancient Welsh poems, triads, and genealogies, a history which shall supply the hiatus between the departure of the Romans and the beginning of the eighth century, where the authentic chronicles commence. In the execution of his task, he has displayed a con- siderable amount of learning and research, and his work is a valuable addition to the stores of our historical literature. To all who entertain an intelligent curiosity respecting our early ecclesiastical history, the works above mentioned will afford the most direct and credible information. In the perusal of them the Christian student will be led to look on the Church of Britain as one in all ages, though appearing with different and varying phases, arising from its connexion with the progress of opinion, the revolutions of political affairs, and the ever changing condition of society. By means of them, too, he will be enabled to trace the progress of the iiiith, and the acts and sufferings of the saints from the time that the Church first began her troubled existence in his native land. In the august "city of our solem- nities" he will find himself an inheritor of institutions, more or less defaced, no doubt, by the many struggles through which they have passed; but still institutions which in their main elements are derived from a period when the faith and zeal of apostles and martyrs shone with a clear and steady light. In order to assure ourselves in the fullest manner of the ti'uth or value of any thing, we usually trace it to its origin and source, and ascertain, as well as we are able, the grounds on which it rests, and the principles by which it is actuated. Thus it is, that an acquaintance with our ecclesiastical history will enable us to discover, what we should naturally expect to find, that the government of the ancient Church of our land was the same as that of all other churches planted by the apostles, with whom it was in full communion; which "government," says Bishop Lloyd, "was unquestionably a diocesan episcopacy, not only in name, but in authority, the same as is now in these kingdoms." The extreme scantiness of evidence connected with the earliest Church history of Britain will ever, it is to be feared, prevent our attaining any degree of certainty respecting its original founder. It may be a matter for devout thankfulness that we do not know exactly who was the honoured ambassador of Christ that first laboured in this vineyard, because our ancestors were thereby pre- vented from calling our Church after the names of men. Whether founded by an apostle or not, she stands forward, claiming the implicit and unqualified submission of the community as being apostolical in faith, in discipline, and in ministry, as the churches actually founded by the apostles. In the fourth century some of her faithful children received the crown of martyrdom during the Diocletian persecution; and on the accession of Constantino to the throne of the Caesars, we find her recognized as a portion of the great Christian community by all other churches, her prelates regularly attending her councils, and subscribing their decrees and canons. In the fifth century, owing to the sanguinary devastation of Britain, first by the Picts and Scots, and subsequent- ly by the Saxons, the Church for a time became partially obscured, and shrunk before her enemies within the remote fastnesses of Wales and Cornwall. There she continued to maintain a separate jurisdiction until the twelfth century, when she finally consented to unite with the other branch of the Christian family in that part of our island distinguished by the name of England, and by merging her succession into the latter, ultimately to become one national Church. " For by the Church of England," says Arclibishop Bramhall, " we understand that Church wdiich was derived in lineal succession from the British, English, and Scottish bishops." We learn, moreover, from an acquaintance with our ecclesiastical history, the immense influence which the Church has exercised from the earliest period on the social and intellectual condition of PREFACE. our country ; and the greatness of the privilege which we at the present time enjoy in the possession of an apostohcal priestliood. " There is," says Archdeacon Manning, " a high spirit abroad, and stirring far and wide, and men are waking up to a sense both of their blessings and their duties, as members of a Church dei'ived by lineal succession from the apostles of the Lord. The Church of the last century lost the consciousness of her lineage, but not her claims to tliis high descent. And now sectarian enmity and secular encroachment have turned her people to search into her original, and her authority, and to ascertain the true idea of her nature and her obligations. They rejoice in knowing that she derives her being and power from her unseen Head, that she is ever quickened and guided by His continual presence, charged with the sacred treasure of the faith, and invested with a sacred rule over his flock and people. Her priesthood have learned themselves to be the bearers of a light kindled not of men, but of God; and that their duty is to shield it and show it to them which are in error, and to hand it on in undiminished brightness to their fellows after them. They feel, too, that if they should dare to yield ever so little from the stern observances of the ministry they have received, they woidd deserve the end of those of whose censers were made broad plates for the altar as a testimony against them. And this spirit is extending every where, and every where finding the minds of men unconsciously yearning for this sustaining truth." CONTENTS. CHAPTER I. Page. Preliminary remarks — Primordial inliabitants of Britain — The Trojan theory — Colonization of Britain, according to the Triads — The Cymry — Druidism, the patriarchal religion — Its subsequent corrup- tion by the introduction of the Arkite worship, and the admixture of Sabian idolatry 1 CHAPTER II. The institution of the Christian church — The apostles — Their travels — Progress of the gospel during the first century — Traditionary claims of St. Peter, St. John, Simon Zelotes, and Joseph of Arimathea — St. Paul's travels, and supposed western journey — Gildas's testimony. 10 CHAPTER III. Testimonies of ecclesiastical writers to establish the fact, that the British church was founded during the apostolic age — Caractacus and his family — Bran — Pomponia Graecina — Claudia Rufina. ... 23 CHAPTER IV. Early church government — Primitive mode of propagating the gospel — Origin of cathedral institutions — Tradition of Glastonbury — St. Aris- tobulus the first bishop of Britain 35 CHAPTER V. The Galilean church — The British church during the second centui-y — His- torical notices of Lucius — His supposed letter to Eleutherius — The foundation of the bishopric of Llandaff. .... 43 CONTENTS. CHAPTER VI. Page. Diocletian persecution — The sufferings of British Christians — Martyrdom of St. Alban, Julius, and Aaron — Reign of Constantino — British bishops attend the councils of Aries, Nice, Sardica, and Ariminum. . . 52 CHAPTER VII. Spread of Arianism and Pelagianism — The mission of Germanus and Lupus — Halleluiatic victory — The family of Brychan — The Galilean, Scot- tish, and British Liturgies 04 CHAPTER VIIL Early British colleges and monasteries — St. Germanus the first founder of them — List of "Welsh Bangors, or colleges of Wales — Colleges esta- blished by St. Patrick and his disciples in Ireland — St. Columba's at lona. 70 CHAPTER IX. Church of Ireland — Palladius — St. Patrick the apostle of the Irish — His letter to Coroticus — Labours of the Irish clergy in foreign countries — Foundation of the bishopric of the Isle of Man — Introduction of Christianity into Scotland — St. Ninian — The Culdees. ... 88 CHAPTER X. The political and civil state of Britain from the third to the fifth century — The departure of the Romans — The Scots and Picts — The groans of the Britons — Depressed state of the British church. . . .100 CHAPTER XI. Episcopal sees of the British church — York — London — Llandaff, Caerleon upon Usk, St. David's — Whitherne, or Candida Casa — Bangor — St. Asaph — Llan-Badarn Vawr — The See of the Isles — St. Andrew's — Glasgow — Cornwall. . . . . . .... 108 CHAPTER XII. The architecture of the British churches — Wattled church at Glastonbury — St. Martin's Canterbury — Origin of York Minster — Church uf Candida Casa — St. Piran's Oratory — Mode of consecration — The cross on churches — Ancient baptisteries and holy wells. 128 CONTENTS. XV CHAPTER XIII. Page. Saxon invasion — Vortigern — Aui-elius Ambrosius — Arthur — St. Dubricius — Synod at Brevi — St. Teilo — St. Oudoceus — The Heptarchy — St. Gregory and the English slaves — Conversion of the Anglo-Saxons — Armorica. 141 CHAPTER XIV. Mission of St. Augustine — His interview with Ethelbert — Consecrated " Bishop of the English" — Conference with the British bishops, who refuse submission to him — Bangorian slaughter — Laurentius — Con- version of the Saxons, and organization of the English Church — Whitby Conference — The Tonsure — Conclusion. . . . .1.53 APPENDIX. I. On St. Peter's first visit to Rome 1 69 II. The utmost bounds or extremity of the West 170 III. Origin of the Choral Service in the different churches . . . 171 IV. St. Patrick's Confession, or Epistle to the Irish 173 V. Canons of the Synod of Patrick, Auxilius, and Isserninus . . 182 VI. The Pallium, or PaU 184 VII. The Easter Controversy 185 VIII. Extracts from St. Gregory's Epistles on the title "Universal Bishop." 187 IX. List of Roman Emperors 189 Catalogue of the early Bishops of Rome 190 Catalogue of the Archbishops of Aries 190 Catalogue of the Archbishops of Lyons 190 Chronological Index . . . . . . . . . . .191 General Index. 193 ROMAN GENERALS AND GOVERNORS OF BRITAIN. A.D. 43 Aulas Plautius. 50 Ostorius Scapula. 54 Aulus Dldius. 57 Veranius. 59 Suetonius Paulinus. 62 Petronius Turpilianus. 65 Trebellius Maximus. 69 Vectius Bolanus. 70 Petilius Cerealis. 75 Julius Frontinus. 78 Cneius Julius Agricola. 85 Sallustius LucuUus. 86 Trebellius. 117 Julius Severus. 119 Licinius Priscus. 138 Lollius Urbicus. 165 Calphurnius Agricola. 180 Ulpius Marcellus. 186 Perennis. 189 Pertinex. 1 90 Clodius Albinus. 200 Heraclianus and Virius Lupus. A.D. 207 Severus visits Britain. [No historical records extant of Britain between a.d. 212—286.] 286 Carausius. 297 Allectus. 300 Constantius Chlorus. 307 Constantine the Great. 340 Martinus. 353 Gratianus, surnanied Funurius 361 Lupicinus. 364 Bulchobandes. 365 Severus. 365 Jovinus. 367 Theodosius. 381 Maximus, (Usurjier.) 389 Chrysantus. 395 Victorinus. 403 Stilicho. 407 Marcus. Gratian Municeps. 408 Constantine. 422. Britain abandoned by the Romans. Cl)roniflfS ntitnt Brttisi) ®i)tirc]^. CHAPTER I. PRELIMINARY REMARKS PRIMORDIAL INHABITANTS OP BRITAIN THE TROJAN THEORY COLONIZATION OP BRITAIN, ACCORDING TO THE TRIADS THE CYMRY DR0IDISM, THE PATRIARCHAL RELIGION — ITS SUBSEQUENT CORRUPTION BY THE INTRODUCTION OF THE ARKITE WORSHIP, AjJD THE ADMIXTURE OP SABIAN IDOLATRY. The origin of great nations is illustrative of a superintending Provi- dence in the government of the world, and confirms the scriptural account, that God made of one blood all the nations of the world; and that he scattered the human race abroad from Shinar upon the face of all the earth, after the standard of rebellion had been raised at Babel. To survey, indeed, the revolutions of empires and kingdoms which have taken place on the theatre of the world without an eye to that Almighty Power who superintends the whole, and bids every movement accomplish his will, is to embark on the ocean without a rudder to guide, or a compass to direct. Between his own condition and that of the primordial inhabitants of Britain, the Christian student perceives a most striking contrast, and by the help of history, traces the superiority which he enjoys to the prevailing influence of that divine system which has brought life and immortality to light. 2 ABORIGINES OP BRITAIN. But how little do wo know of the primary periods of our national history ! " I look into the times of old,"' said the Bard of Selma, " but they seem dim to Ossian's eyes, like reflected moonbeams on a distant lake." But scanty, indeed, as are the sources from which the early history of Britain is to be derived, it is not so utterly lost in Cimmerian darkness, nor inextricably interwoven with fiction, as to be altogether contemptible. It may, therefore, be interesting as well as instructive to know what measures were decreed, what steps were pursued, and what instruments were selected, in the hands of Providence, to introduce and gradually to diff"use the knowledge of God, and of his Son Jesus Christ, among the earlier inhabitants of our island. Before entering upon the historical notices of the Ancient British Church, it will be necessary to give a summary account of the religion of the aborigines of Britain ere the Star of Bethlehem was seen in the East, and before the Gospel shed its brilliant light upon the islands of the West. Druidism is the term usually employed to designate the primitive religion of our ancestors — a religion which obtained and flourished in Britain from the time it was first colonized down to the period of its first subjugation by the Romans, fifty-four years before the advent of Christ. Though the migration of the primitive families began about 540 years after the deluge, a considerable time must have elapsed before they all reached their respective destinations. The "seasons" as well as the "boundaries" of their respective settlements were equally the appointment of God, the nearer countries to the original settlement being planted first, and the remoter in succession. These primitive clans seem to have been scattered and detached from each other according to local convenience. "Without pretending to settle minute details, we may conclude, that the confusion of tongues took place somewhere in the plains watered by the Euphrates. It was here that the great hive of mankind was gathered together, and it was from hence, as from a common centre, that swanns were sent out in various directions. It has generally been considered, that the Cymry, or first race, were the descendants of Gomer, the common ancestor of the Celtic tribes, Britain having fallen to their lot Avhen " the islands of the Gentiles were divided among the children of Japheth, every one after his tongue, after their families, in their nations." The descendants of Shem, the second son of Noah, who is generally mentioned first in Scripture, because the Saviour was to arise out of his posterity, had for COLONIZATION OF BRITAIN. 3 their inheritance the continent of Asia, with the exception of a few districts to the west of the Euphrates. Africa was given to the posterity of Ham, the youngest son of Noah ; and by them alone was that devoted country originally peopled ; but some of Ham's descendants, as the Canaanites and the Philistines, remained in Asia. The race of Japheth at first appeared to be inconsiderable, both in number and in knowledge ; but the promise that God should enlarge him, and he should dwell in the tents of Shem, and Ham should be his servant, has in late years been remarkably fulfilled. At what precise period the patriarchal tribes transplanted themselves to our sea-girt island, bringing with them the wisdom of far antiquity, is one of those events in the history of man which no historian can write. In the Chronicle of the Kings of Britain, commonly called Geoffrey of Monmouth's History, the origin of the British is attributed to one Brutus the Trojan, and his companions. Brutus is said to be the son of Silvius, the son of Ascanius, the son of ^neas. These Trojans, after meeting with many reverses of fortune, and having passed through various scenes of adventure in Greece, Italy, and Gaul, which are very circumstantially related in the Chronicle, at length found their way to Britain, about the time that Samuel the prophet governed Israel (b. c. 1100). This island is said not to have been utterly destitute of inhabitants at that time, for the author tells us there were giants* who strenuously opposed these invaders. The acute and judicious Camden, at the end of the sixteenth century, was almost the first inquirer into our national antiquities, who ventured to question this long accredited tale. Since the time of Camden most of our historians have passed over Geoffrey's records with nothing more than a sneer, without considering, as Milton remarks, "that oftentimes relations heretofore accounted fabulous, have been after found to contain in them footsteps and relics of something true." Geoffrey certainly was not the inventor of the Trojan theory, as his book is a translation of a work brought out of Wales by Walter, otherwise called Calenius, archdeacon of Oxford, in the reign of Henry I. The tradition was current for some centuries before the time of Geoffrey and Walter, for Nennius was acquainted with it in his days. " The British tradition," he says, " derived the appellation of the island from Brutus, who was the son of Hisicyon, and he was the son of Alaunus." It is mentioned too by the Welsh priest TysiHo, who is * These gigantes, or giants, were probably nothing more than petty kings or generals, for many ancient princes are so denominated. 4 COLONIZATION OF BRITAIN. believed to have flourished in the latter part of the seventh century. The Brut, or Chronicle, of Tysilio seems to have been the prototype both of the work which Geoffrey translated, and of many other similar performances. It may also be traced still farther back, for according to Ammianus Marcellinus, some of the Gauls had a tradition that they Avere the descend- ants of the Trojans, which he thus relates — " It is said that a few Trojans, after the destruction of Troy, in making their escape from those Greeks who were dispersed abroad, took possession of these countries, which at that time were uninhabited." Considered, however, with aU the circum- stances of the relation as we have it in the Monmouth chronicler, the tradi- tion probably arose from making Brito the son of Hisicyon into Brutus the Trojan ; which was partly countenanced by the ancient tradition of the Druids, that the Cymro-Britons were of Thracian origin. With the exception of a few interpolations introduced by some copyists by way of embellishment, his history may contain a correct account — not of the aborigines of Britain, for it states that the island was already inhabited — but of a colony of Tro- jans that came into Britain about 1200 years after the deluge. It must, however, be evident, that if we push our investigations to an earlier period than the conquest of Caesar, we shall be doomed, like a wanderer in the bush of Australia, to tread a dark, entangled, and uncertain path. Some of the Welsh Triads allude to circumstances about the aborigines and early history of the island, of which every other memorial has perished. In them the Cymry are positively stated to be the first occupiers of the soil, and as such considered themselves ever after as the rightful, because the original, proprietors. They afterwards became blended with the two cognate tribes of the Loegrians and Brython ; and the latter name became the prevalent one among foreigners, and the most general at home.* The Triads ascend to the political and social circumstances of the Cymry before their departure from the plains of Shinar. By far the most prominent object in these curious fragments is Hu Gadarn, or Hu the Mighty. The attributes and exploits ascribed to this mythical personage, render it im- possible not to identify him with Noah, who is said to have formed the Cymry into social communities, to have instructed them in agriculture, and to have * Before the time of Caesar's invasion, the subdivided into districts under their respective island was divided into three parts, Loegria or reguli, over which they presided with a limited England, Albania or Scotland, and Cambria or a.vLtlionty.— iyarriru/tim's Cambria Triiimphnyit, the province of Wales. Each of these was p. 3. Humphrey Lhi/d'n Breriary, p. 10. THE CYMRT. 5 adapted poetry to the preservation of their historical memorials. He was commemorated under a variety of designations and with many mystical rites, which prove that in process of time, a number of other and secondary ideas had gathered round and corrupted the primitive patriarchal tradition. Especially are there discernible obvious vestiges of the Sabian idolatry, or the worship of the host of heaven, engrafted on the Noachic myths. Nor are there wanting obscure intimations in some of the earlier Bardic poems, that this was regarded as an innovation on the ancient system of the Britons, imported first into Cornwall, it is supposed, by those Phoenician merchants who visited that coast at a remote age, to procure tin, lead, &.c. In Geoffrey's Chronicle this island was called Albion, or " White Island," before Brutus gave it the name of Britain ; but the Triads give the following as the true origin of the name : — " There Avere three names given to the Isle of Britain from the beginning. Before it was inhabited, it was called, the Sea-girt Green Spot. After it was inhabited, it was called the Honey Island, from the quantity of wild honey found in it. And after the people were formed into a commonwealth by Prydain the son of Aedd the Great, it was denominated the Isle of Prydain [English, Britain s Isle.~\ And no one has any right to it but the tribe of the Cymry, for they first settled in it ; and before that time no persons lived therein, but it was full of bears, wolves, crocodiles, and bisons." — T^-iad 1. In the Triads respecting renowned men and things that were in the Isle of Britain, and the circumstances and misfortunes which happened to the nation of the Aborigines, we find the following notices : — " The three national pillars of the Isle of Britain. First, Hu [Hugh] the Mighty,"^ who first brought the nation of the Cymry to the Isle of Britain. They came from the Summer country, which is called Defrobani, [that is the place where Constantinople now stands ;] and they came over the Hazy Sea, to the Isle of Britain, and to Armorica, where they settled." — Triad 4. But this primary and principal colony was soon followed by other two, as appears from the 5th Triad : — " The three Social tribes of the Isle of Britain. The first was the tribe of the Cymry, that came with Hu the Mighty into the Isle of Britain, * Bryant, in his " Analysis," traces every of a later authority, Faber, that the principal deity and rite of the Gentile world to a deities revered by most ancient nations, are misconceived and misrepresented notion of the allusive to the Sabian idolatry, engrafted on the Diluvian Noah ; and it is the recorded opinion catastrophe of the deluge. 6 DRUIDISM. because he would not possess a country and lands by fighting and contention, but justly and in peace. " The second was the tribe of the Loegrians, who came from Gwasgyn (Gascony), and were descended from the primitive tribe of the Cymry. " The third were the Brython, or Britons, who came from the land of Llydaw (Armorica), and were also descended from the primitive tribe of the C}Tnry. " These were called the three peaceful tribes, because they came by mutual consent and permission, in peace and tranquillity : and these three tribes had sprung from the primitive race of the Cymry ; and the three were of one language and one speech." The descendants of Japheth that first took possession of Britain, though composed of several distinct tribes, yet formed but one nation, having sprung from the same stock, and all speaking the same language. Their form of government was pure patriarchism ; that is, they were all subject to the heads of their respective families, who were also in Britain, as well as in the East, the ministers of religion to their respective tribes. But as these patriarchal priests chose to instruct the people and perform their solemn rites in groves, and especially under the oak, their official name Gioijddon (the plural of Givijdd, which implies Avisdom or knowledge) acquired in course of time another syllable by way of prefix, taken from Derw, their o^vn Cymbric appellation of the oak or oak-groves. The name compounded of Denv and Gwyddon stood thus, Der-wyddon, which implied the oak-wise-men, or Priests of the oak. And this term we render Druids in English. The practice of worshipping God under the oak, and sacrificing to him in groves, doubtless prevailed among the patriarchs in the East from the most remote times. We read in Genesis that " Abraham passed through the land (of Canaan) unto the place of Sichem, unto the plain of Morch :*' according to the Hebrew, " unto the oak, or oak-grove of Moreh." (See Parkhurst.) " The same custom prevailed after the dispersion in the East, among the descendants of Shem, until the departure of the Israelites out of Egypt, and the erection of the Tabernacle in the wilderness," which probably was the first building ever formed as an habitation for the Deity. {Scott.) And the Israelites were then forbidden to worship in groves, as incompatible with tlie worship of the Tabernacle, and because groves had been desecrated hv llu- idolatrous Canaanites. the descendants of Ham. and DRITIDIC RELIGION. 7 made the scenes of the vilest abominations. This custom was first debased and perverted to idolatrous purposes by the Canaanites, long after the time of Abraham, and the arrival of the elder branch of Japheth in Britain. The stones set up by Jacob at Luz, and the pillar or heap at Galeed — - those by Joshua at Gilgal, and that by Samuel at Eben-ezer, present to the antiquary a highly interesting subject of inquiry, and will enable him to trace up to the patriarchs themselves the origin of Druidical monuments of our own land — the carnes, the cromlechs, the circles, and that wild architecture, whose gigantic stones hanging on one another, are still to be seen frowning upon the plains of Stonehenge. The following epitome of the religious principles of the primitive Druids of Britain, drawn from their own memorials, will show their conformity to the religion of Noah and the antediluvians ; that the patriarchal religion was actually preserved in Britain under the name of Druidism ; and that the British Druids, while they worshipped in groves and under the oak like Abraham, did really adore the God of Abraham, and trust in his me^cy. 1. They believed in the existence of one Supreme Being. 2. In the doctrine of Divine Providence, or that God is the Governor of the universe. 3. In man's moral responsibility, and considered his state in this world as a state of discipline and probation. 4. They had a most correct view of moral good and evil. 5. They offered sacrifices in their religious worship. 6. They believed in the immortality of the soul, and a state of recompense after death. 7. They believed in a final or coming judgment. 8. They believed in the transmigration of the soul. 9. They observed particular days and seasons for religious purposes. 10. Marriage was held sacred among them.* This sketch is sufficient to show the identity between the religion of Noah and the antediluvians, and that of the Druids in Britain. So exact an identity of thinking and acting, by two people so far remote from each other, in the same epoch of time, cannot be satisfactorily explained, but on the supposition of the latter people having been connected with the former, and deriving their origin and their institutions from them. A late writer f observes, that Druidism is not without oriental features. " So much subserviency," he says, " of one part of a nation to another, in an age so * See an ably written tractate . on the Japheth," ch. iv. Mr. James, p. 14, traces the Patriarchal Religion of Britain, by the Rev. route by which the Cymry arrived in Britain. D. James, which displays great research. Also, f Sir James Mackintosh, Hist, of Eug. vol. i. the learned Dr Parsons, in his "Remains of p. 9. 8 BRIIIDTSM CORRUPTED. destitute of the means of influence and of the habits of obedience, is not without resemblance to that system of ancient Asia, which confined men to hereditary occupations, and consequently vested in the sacerdotal caste a power founded in the exclusive possession of knowledge.'" The Druidic religion may be chronologically divided into three successive epochs : — its origin and progress ; its first great corruption by the introduction of the Arkite worship ; and its second great corruption by the admixture of Sabian idolatry. As the various clans which peopled the earth moved forward from the East, they took every precaution to preser\'e and cherish the social institutions of their ancestors ; and hence, whatever was subsequently engrafted on these, their primitive state is still to be discerned. Such was the origin of Druidism and all other heathen hierarchies, Avhich in their pure state may be regarded as raised on the basis of the patriarchal religion. It is probable that even in the days of Noah, the ark, as a means of miraculous preservation, was commemorated with respect ; a growing idolatry considered it as a benign goddess, and as from it, as well as from the wife of Noah, the earth was re-peopled, these two in process of time became confounded. As the Arkite male divinity was termed Hu, the goddess associated with him was designated Ked, said by Mr. Davies to be the Ceto of antiquity, whom Mr. Bryant and Mr. Faber pronoxmce to be no other than Ceres or Isis. About five hundred years before the Christian era, the Phoenicians from the coasts of Tyre and Sidon first directed their voyages to Britain, and having in a little time established a commerce with the natives, were as Borlase conjectures, permitted to make some small settlements for the benefit of their trade. Both this writer and Davies are of opinion, that to strengthen their connexion with the people, an attempt was made to introduce their own religion. This was the Sabian idolatry, or the worship of the Diluvian god in conjunction with the sun, and the Arkite goddess with that of the moon. Britain was the seat of pure Druidism, from which it had extended more or less in the time of Coesar among the Celtic and Cimmerian nations of Belgium, Gaul, and Spain. Hence, the account given by Caesar of the Druidism of Gaul ought not in fairness to be forced upon the public, as is too often the case as a true picture of the primitive Druidism of Britain. The ancient British Druids have left on record a testimony, that " the Gauls THE DRUIDS. corrupted what had been taught them of British Druidism, blending with it heterogeneous principles ; by which means they lost it." Even at the time of the Roman invasion it was preserved among the Cymry of the interior in a far purer state than on the Continent. As a proof of this, we are told by Caesar, that those among the Gauls who wished to be thoroughly initiated into the mysteries of Druidism resorted to Britain. The Druids were regarded with profound veneration for their know- ledge ; so that it was a kind of adage with respect to any thing that was deemed mysterious — " No one knows but God and the holy Druids." Being ministers of religion, and frequently, if not generally, exercising the highest offices in the community, their power and influence could not fail of being very extensive. The account given by Caesar abundantly confirms this. According to the great Roman, the Druids had not only the charge of the public sacrifices, and the various ceremonies of religion, but to them the education of youth was entrusted. They presided in the courts of justice, and all litigated matters were brought before them. In all causes, both criminal and civil, their decision was final, and if any person, however eminent, refused to abide by their sentence, he was interdicted the public sacrifices, and treated as an outlaw ; his society was shunned, and he was denied the common rights of a citizen. It is difficult to account for the many points of strong resemblance between the rites and institutions of the Druids of Britain, the Magi of Persia, the Chaldeans of Babylonia, the Brahmins of India, and the priests of Egypt, unless we suppose that these rites and institutions were derived from one common origin ; which manifests them to be of date anterior to the time when the Greeks and Romans, produced those " elegant mythologies" which, though far more heterodox than the superstitions in which they originated, have for centuries held so prominent a position in the regions of poetry and fable. Refined and polished by philosophy as the Greeks and Romans were, their superstitions were equally vain and absurd with those of the nations whom they were pleased to denominate barbarians ; and it was not till after the arrival of the Romans into Britain, that the patriarchal religion became finally corrupted. The reign of Paganism, however, was but of short duration in this country ; the shades of night had no sooner enveloped our land, than " the people which sat in darkness saw a great light ; and to them which sat in the region and shadow of death, light was sprung up." c CHAPTER II. the institution of the christian church — the apostles — their travels — progress op the gospel during the first century — traditionary claims, of st. peter, st. john, simon zelotes, and joseph of arimathea — st. Paul's travels, and supposed western journey — gildas's testimony. It is admitted by all professing Christians, that the Son of God came into the world to establish a Church or Society, in which, through his atone- ment and merits, salvation should be obtained by man, even to the end of time. The word Church is frequently used in a two-fold sense : first, the invisible, which includes the faithful in all ages and in all places, who from the begin- ning have believed in God, whether in heaven or on earth. Secondly, the visible church established by Christ, which is called catholic, or universal, in opposition to the legal dispensation of the Jewish. " He taketh away the first," says the apostle, " that he may establish the second." He has taken away the law and the legal priesthood, that he may establish the Gospel and the evangelical priesthood." This church is universal, and extends to all places and all nations, whether Jew or Gentile, bond or free, rich or poor. She is declared to be "• the pillar and ground of the truth," and a direct promise is vouchsafed her, that in consequence of the ever-present care and guidance of the Holy Ghost, the word of truth committed to her shall never be lost. As established by Christ and his apostles, she is an organized Society destined to pursue in the world objects beyond the world; Avith laws and a polity, not of man's ordering; governed by powers dele- gated indeed to men, but not from men. Her kingdom is real and visible, distinct from the kingdoms of this world and independent of them, as well when embracing as when confronting them ; with objects and ends, over all earthly ones, paramount. We learn from Scripture, there is but one foundation upon which the church is built, and that is Jesus Christ : " for other foundation can no man lay, than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ." This is the stone THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH, 11 that was laid in Zion for a foundation — a tried stone, a precious corner- stone, a sure foundation. And though sometimes the apostles and the prophets are also termed the foundation, yet even then the unity is pre- served, because as they are stones in the foundation, so are they united by one corner-stone ; whereby it comes to pass, that such persons as are of the church, " being fellow-citizens with the saints and of the household of God, are built upon the foundation of the prophets and apostles, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner-stone " — who holds the several parts to- gether, and supports the whole stress of the edifice — " and in whom all the building fitly framed together, groweth unto a holy temple in the Lord." But as no visible society can exist without order and government, we find our Lord before his ascension instituted an order of men for the ex- press purpose of propagating the gospel throughout the world. As the great High Priest of the Christian church we see him outwardly set apart for the work he came to accomplish, when the Spirit descended upon him at the river Jordan, and " there came a voice from the excellent glory, saying. This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased." The evangelist adds, " Then began Jesus to teach and to preach." Possessing a plenitude of power and authority to give virtue and efficacy to all his ministrations, he was the Priest by whom all other priests were consecrated : the Bishop from whose authority all other authority is derived. After the Holy Ghost de- scended and abode upon hun, we find him ordaining twelve apostles, according to the number of the tribes of Israel, to whom he committed the administration of the infant church, and who were witnesses of all things which he did, both in the land of the JeAvs and in Jerusalem. Afterward he chooses other seventy disciples, according to the number of the elders whom Moses appointed as his assistants ; and though their commission was in some points the same, yet we read (Acts i. 22, 23) of one of the seventy (Matthias) being elected to fill the vacant place of an apostle, which could not have been the case, had the two offices been equal in authority. After his resurrection, our Lord invested his apostles with the same commission his Father had given to him : " As my Father hath sent me, so send I you ; and he breathed on them, and said unto them. Receive ye the Holy Ghost." Subsequently, at his parting charge, he commands them " to go and teach (or make disciples) of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost ;" and promised that he " would be with them ahvay, even to the end of the world," (Matt, xxviii. 18 — 20.) 12 TBAVELS OF THE APOSTLES. Such a promise given to men whose earthly career must ere long be finished, clearly pointed at their successors as the persons in whom it was to receive its proper fulfilment. By virtue of this commission the apostles assumed the direction of the newly constituted church; and one of their first acts after our Lord's ascension was to complete their original number of twelve, by the election of Matthias, and subsequently to ordain seven deacons by the laying on of their hands. A few years later we find mention made of Presbyters and Elders ; and though the date of their first appointment is not recorded, it probably arose out of the same causes which had led to the ordaining of deacons, namely, the rapidly increasing numbers of the Chris- tians. For some time the labours of the apostles were confined to Judea, and to places a short distance from Jerusalem ; but afterwards they made more extensive circuits from one end of the empire to the other. Being thus obliged to be frequently absent from Jerusalem, they left the Christians of that city to the permanent care of St. James,* who was a relation of our Lord. AMierever the apostles founded a church, the management of it was conducted by presbyters or elders, and deacons ; but while the apostles con- fined themselves to making circuits through Palestine, they were themselves the superintendents of the churches they planted. We know very little of the personal histor)^ of the twelve apostles ; though there are abundant traditions concerning their preaching in distant countries and suffering martyrdom. They were few in number, and weak in worldly resources ; but, sustained by that superhuman power promised to them by their ascended Lord, they went forth into all lands, and planted the banner of the cross upon the ruins of heathenism. Limited during the life of our Lord to the precincts of Judea and the boundaries of their Master's diocese, their powers were enlarged after his resurrection, and they were commanded to " go into all the world, and preach the gospel to every crea- * All the early writers are unanimous in show these things unto James, and to the spcakingof St. Jamcsas the first bishop of Jem- brethren," (Acts xii. 17.) At the council of salcm — most probably St. James, who is dc- Jerusalem, concerning Jewish rites, we find the scribed as the son of Alpheus, from the few case opened by St. Peter, and debated by St. particulars related in Scripture concerning him. Paul, yet the final and decretory sentence was St. Paul after his conversion made bis address pronounced by St. James: "Wherefore, my to this apostle (Gal. i. 19, ii. 9), by whom he sentence is," &c. (Acts xv. 19.) Professor was honoured with the right hand of fellowship. Hug, a leai-ned divine of the church of Home, It was to St. James that St. Peter sent tlie allows St. James to have taken precedence of news of his deliverance out of prison; "Go, St. Peter at this apostolic council. TRAVELS OF THE APOSTLES. 13 ture." To enable them to discharge this embassy, they were, a few days after, miraculously furnished with the knowledge of all the languages of the known world. St. Peter, after exercising his apostolic office in Judea, then at An- tioch, preached to the dispersed Jews in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia Proper, Bithynia, to whom his first epistle is addressed ; and about the year 63, he is supposed to have left these provinces, and to have proceeded to Rome, Avhere he assisted St. Paul in founding a church, and to have re- ceived the crown of martyrdom in the same year with his illustrious fellow- apostle. St. Andrew travelled into the northern countries of Scythia: while St. Thomas took Parthia, Media, Carmania, Bactriana, and the neigh- bouring nations. St. John is said to have continued in Palestine till near the commencement of the Jewish war [a. d. 66], at which eventful period he quitted that devoted country, and travelled into Asia Minor, and pro- bably founded the seven churches mentioned in Revelation i. 4. He fixed his residence at Ephesus ; which celebrated city, and the neighbouring territory, were the great scene of his ministry during the remainder of his extended life. St. Philip preached in Higher Asia, and towards the close of his life at Hierapolis, now called Aleppo. St. James the Great, the son of Zebedee, after preaching to the dispersed Jews, was the first apostle who suffered martyrdom. He was beheaded by Herod Agrippa, the king of Judea, A. D. 49. St. Bartholomew travelled as far as the East Indies, whither he took the gospel of St. Matthew. He visited Phrygia also, and Lycaonia, and thence journeyed through Armenia into Albania, where he suffered a dreadful death. St. Matthew chose Ethiopia as the scene of his labours. St. Simon, Egypt, Cyrene, Libya, and Mauritania; and St. JuDE (surnamed Thaddseus, or Lebbseus), Syria and Mesopotamia. St. Matthias, after ministering for some time in Judea, travelled eastward; and St. James the Less was constituted bishop of Jerusalem. In Egypt the church was founded by St. Mark, who consecrated Anianus the first bishop of Alexandria. Our Lord had prophesied (Matt. xxiv. 14) that his gospel should be preached throughout all the world before the destruction of Jerusalem: which prophecy was abundantly fulfilled within thirty years after his ascension. "The sound of it," says St. Paul, (Rom. x. 18) "went into all the earth, and their words unto the ends of the world ;" and in Col. i. 23, he tells lis that " it was preached to every creature which is under heaven." 14 DIFFUSION OF THE GOSPEL. The world beyond the ocean (says Clem. Rom. Ep. ad. Cor.) was subject to the commands of Jesus. The contagion of this superstition (says Pliny, lib. x, Ep. ad Trajan) hath spread itself not only over cities, but even villages and fields. There is no rank of men (says Justin MartjT, Dial, cum Tr}^h.), whether Grecians or barbarians, or called by any other name, in which praise and thanksgiving are not offered up to the Father in the name of Christ crucified. So that a whole race of Christian nations (saith Origen contra Cels., b. viii.) seemeth to be born at once. Thus, in about thirty years, that little grain of mustard seed had grown into a mighty tree, the roots of which had struck themselves deep in all parts of the civilised world ; and already it extended " from the river (Euphrates) to the ends of the earth.'" *^ We come now to St. Paul, whose miraculous conversion will be found in the New Testament, and who, as he confesses,' " by the grace of God laboured more abundantly than all the apostles." Though not chosen to the apostleship by Jesus Christ whilst on the earth, he is yet called " the great apostle of the Gentiles." From the time of his conversion [a. d. 44] he had but one object in view, which was to make known the doctrines of the cross. " God forbid," says he, " that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ." Hence we find him discouraged neither by dangers nor by difficulties, traversing sea and land ; in journeyings often, in perils in the sea, in hunger and thirst, in cold and nakedness ; and through his preaching it pleased God " to cause the light of the Gospel to shine throughout the world." The greater part of his travels will be fovmd in the Acts of the Apostles, w^here we find that he seldom remained long in one place ; and for the space of thirty-five years he flew like an angel of light from city to city, and from country to country — through Arabia, Asia, and Greece, round about Illyricvim, to Rome, and even to the utmost bounds of the West, a term which includes Britain, according to both ancient and modern authorities. This brings us to the introduction of the Gospel into Britain. The credit of this glorious work has been claimed for St. Peter, St. Philip, St. John, Simon Zelotes, and Joseph of Arimathea, or of more than one of * The extraordinary progress of Christianity replies to the reasonings and insinuations of the during the first century is admirably described sceptical Gibbon, (Decline and Fall of the by IJishop Pearson, in his Exposition of the Roman Empire, vol. i. ch. 1.5) sec the Tracts Ajiostles' Creed, art. C/insl. For satis^factorv of Bp. Watson, Lord Tlailes, and Mr. Milner. ST. PETER ST. JOHN SIMON ZELOTES. 15 these holy men. Most of our learned historians, however, who have at all investigated this part of our history ascribe it to St. Paul, the evidence in favour of whom has a probability amounting almost to certainty. Before entering, however, upon the discussion of the evidence in favour of St. Paul, it will be necessary to review the various traditionary notices respecting the claims of the other apostles and their disciples. 1. St. Peter. Eysengrenius, who professes to follow Simeon Meta- phrastes, has endeavoured to prove that St. Peter preached the gospel in Britain ; but his arguments are unsatisfactory. Metaphrastes who lived in the tenth century, states, that " St. Peter spent some days in Britain, and enlightened many by the word of grace ; and having established churches, and elected bishops, presbyters, and deacons, came again to Rome in the twelfth year of Nero, a.d. 65." The total silence, however, of all the early fathers respecting this visit, and of any of the British churches to claim St. Peter as their founder, is sufficient to invalidate his testimony. The testimony of Metaphrastes is not only rejected by Bishop Stillingfleet, but also by Baronius, who pronoimces him to be of " no authority in these matters."* Cardinal Bellarmin accuses him of giving too much loose to his imagination. Lingard, too, calls him "a treacherous authority.'" f 2. St. John. Tertullian relates (De Prescript. Haeres. c. xxvi.) that " this apostle was cast into a caldron of boiling oil, by the tyrant Nero at Rome ; and after he came out was banished to a certain island.'" The learned antiquary Roberts, (Visitation Sermon, 1812,) has adopted this tradition on account of the great stress laid upon St. John's authority in the debate between Colman and Wilfrid, a.d. 664, about the time of celebrating Easter. But St. John was banished not by Nero, but by Domitian, as we learn from Sulpicius Severus and Isidore ; % and not to Britain, but to Patmos, in the Archipelago, as he declares himself, Rev. i. 9. 3. Simon Zelotes. Nicephorus says, in one passage, that some of the apostles went to the utmost bounds of the ocean, and to the British Isles ; § in another, " that Simon Zelotes entered the Western Ocean, and preached the gospel in the British Isles, and was crucified in Britain." || This, however, is contradicted in the Roman Martyrology and Breviary, as also in the Martyrologies of Bede, Usuard, and Adon, where he is said to have suffered martyrdom in Persia, on the 28th of October. ^ * Baronius, a.d, 44. f Anglo Saxon Church, i. 3. J See Lardner, vol. ii. p. 268 ; vol. v. 164, 309. § Eccles. Hist. lib. iii. c. i. || Ibid. lib. ii. c. 40. t Usser. Brit. Eccles. Antiq. p. 4. 16 JOSEPH OF ARIMATHEA ST. PAUL. 4. Joseph of Arimathea. Normun authorities have assigned to Joseph the credit of being- an apostle to Britain, and they are supported by the approving opinion of Cardinal Bona and Geoffrey of Monmouth. His pretensions have been defended by Theophilus Evans in his Drych y Prif Oesoedd, and the learned Charles Edwards in his Hanes y Ffydd. Bale quotes an early British historian of the name of Melkinus Avalonius for this tradition; but confesses that he is "a very fabulous writer."* Leland tells us, that Bale met with the fragment of Melkinus in the library of Glaston- bury ; f from which he concluded, that Melkinus had written something of the history of Britain, and particularly something concerning the antiquity of Glastonbury, and Joseph of Arimathea. But this story, says Leland, " he sets on foot without any certain author," which makes this learned antiquary dissent from him. And elsewhere,;]: when speaking of the Glastonbury tradition, he observes, " that twelve men are said to have come hither under the conduct of one Joseph ; but not Joseph of Arimathea." Bishop Stillingfleet in his Origines Britannicae (ch. i.) has ably examined all the circumstances connected with this tradition, and has satisfactorily proved the improbability of the mission of Joseph of Arimathea to this country. No mention too is made of it by Gildas, Bede, Asserius, Marianus Scotus, or any of the earliest writers ; although Baronius declares, on the authority of an ancient MS. in the Vatican, that Lazarus, Mary Magdalen, and Martha, accompanied him. § Car. a Sancto Paulo, in his Sacred Geography, Great Britain, treats the story of Joseph of Arimathea as a complete fable. || We now proceed to the investigation of the chief facts and arguments which bear upon the question whether St. Paul visited Britain, and founded the original church in this island. The Epistle to the Romans was written from Corinth [between a. d. 53 and 55], and before Paul had ever seen the Roman Christians (chap. i. 11), and previous to his visit to Jerusalem, for he was about to proceed thither (chap. xv. 25). In the same chapter we find, that he expresses his earnest desire and long-cherished * Bal. de Script. Brit. lib. i. 57. of London, pretended he had a revelation from t Leland dc Script, in Melkino. heaven, ordering him to make search for the X Leland in Eluano. body of the noble Decurion, for which he § Uaronius, Annals, a.d. 3.5, sec. .5. obtained the king's licence, a copy of which the II llsshcr, in his work De Primordiis primate has given in his work, A translation Ecclcsiarum Britauiiicarum, treating of Joseph of this cimous document will be found in the and his supposed arrival in Britain, says, that Gentleman's Mag. vol. .\liv. p. 409. Sec also in the reign of Edward III. one John Bloen;c, Fuller's Church Hist. cent. i. book i. sec. 14. ST. Paul's first imprisonment. 17 purpose of going to Rome, and from thence into the West " But now having no more place in these parts, and having a great desire these many years to come to you, whensoever I take my journey into Spain, I will come to you" (ver. 23, 24); "When therefore I have performed this .... I will come by you into Spain" (ver. 28). In the Acts of the Apostles we have an account of his journey from Jerusalem to Rome, where he remained two years, which afforded him an opportunity of establishing the Christian converts into a society, as he promised them he would do in his epistle to them : " For I long to see you, that I may impart to you some spiritual gift, to the end that you may be established" (i. 11). And his language further implies, that at the time St. Paul wrote his epistle to the Romans, no other apostle had been there before him, lest he should have obtruded himself to build " upon another man's foundation" (ch. xv. 20). St. Luke, in the Acts of the Apostles, has narrated very distinctly St. Paul's journey from Jerusalem to Rome. He appealed to Caesar, and says Festus, " to Csesat thou shalt go." It is admitted by most historians that St. Paul reached Rome in the spring of the year 56,* in the second of Nero's reign. Some learned men (as Pearson) place his arrival there in February, others in April. The manner in which St. Luke expresses himself (Acts xxviii. 30, 31) respecting the apostle's residence at Rome, implies that he was detained there as a prisoner, for we are merely told that he preached the gospel in his own dwelling : and although he could receive any visit in his own residence under the inspection of his guard, he was not at liberty, till his cause was decided, to go to whatever place he chose. During his confinement, anxiety for the extension of the kingdom of God, and for the prosperity of the churches he had founded, occupied him far more than the * To St. Paul's first journey to Rome different dates are assigned by difFerent writers : 2nd of Nero by Eusebius . . . . a. d. 56 Jerome Bede Freculphus Ivo 3rd Nero by Simson a. d. .57 4th — Calvisius 58 5th — Beausobre 59 6th — Pearson 60 Barrington Platina I 7th — Lardner 61 Hist. F.cc.l. Magdeb. Petavius Scaliger Capelhis StilUn fleet Cave (Hist. Lit.) Tillemont Tomline Townsend 8th — Hales 62 0th — Ussher (Annal) .... 63 Hug 18 rot'NDATIOX OF THK KOMAN CHURCH. care of his personal welfare, and as all persons had free access to him, he thus enjoj'cd opportunities for preaching the gospel. How long St. Paul remained at Rome after his liberation does not appear ; but as the universal tradition of the church ascribes the foundation or first government of the Roman Church to the apostles St. Peter and St. Paul, it appears highly probable that the latter apostle was joined by St. Peter during the latter part of his first imprisonment in that city.* The ill success of St. Paul with the Roman Jews, which induced him, as he frankly told them, to turn to the Gentiles (Acts xxviii. 28), rendered it necessary for St. Peter also to visit Rome ; for the latter was in the highest estimation with the Jews in general, as the especial apostle of the circumcision. And there seems to be a marked reference to St. Paul's co-operation, in St. Peter's salutation to " the elected"' of the dispersion, from " the co-elected church in Babylon," or, the Gentile church at Rome (1 Peter i. 1 ; v. 13.) f Thus Irenaeus (Adv. Haeres. lib. iii. c. 3.) speaking of the Roman church, calls it " the very great, ancient, and universally known church, founded by the two glorious apostles Peter and Paul." And Epiphanius (Haer. xxvii. n. 6.) says, that " St. Peter and St. Paul did both constitute bishops at Rome upon their going thence to preach the gospel in other places." "Accordingly," says Dr. Hammond, "in Ignatius (Ep. ad Trail.) we read of Linus and Clement, that one was St. Paul's, the other St. Peter's deacon, who afterwards respectively succeeded them in the episcopal chair, Linus being constituted Bishop of the Gentile, Clement of the Jewish Christians. And hence grows unquestionably, that variety, or difference, observed among writers, some making St. Peter, others St. Paid, the founder of that church ; but others both of them ; some making Clement, others Linus, the first bishop after the apostles, both affirmers speaking the truth, with this schoUoti to interpret them. Linus was the first bishop of the Gentile christians after St. Paul ; Clement the first of the Jewish after St. Peter ; and after the death of Linus, Cletus (or Anacletus)J succeeding him, who dying also, both congregations were at length joined in one under Clement. By wdiich one clue, I suppose it easier to extricate the reader out of the mazes into which * See Appcndi.x, No. I. Lactantius says, f Whitby in loc. that St. Peter came to Rome about the beginning X Anencletus is called Anacktus by the of the reign of Nero, twenty years after the ancient translator of Irenaeus, and Cletus Ascension, a. d. 57. (De Mort. Persec. cap 2.) by Epiphanius and the Cunou of the Mass. ST. PAUL S WESTERN JOURNEY. 19 the ancient writers may lead him in rehearsing the first bishops of Rome so very diversely.'"* Hitherto we have possessed certain information respecting the circumstances and labours of the apostle St. Paul during his first confinement at Rome. But in reference to the sequel, we meet on all sides with great obscurity and uncertainty. The question arises, Whither did he proceed in his travels after his liberation. The decision of this question depends partly on the depositions of historical witnesses, partly on the result of an examination of those Bpistles* which are generally supposed to have been wi'itten during his first visit to the imperial city, viz. the Epistles to the Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, Philemon, and the Hebrews. The second Epistle to Timothy was evidently written at a later period, and during a second imprisonment of St. Paul at Rome. Before his confinement, St. Paul, as we have seen, had expressed his intention of going into Spain, and the testimonies of the early Fathers, given in the next chapter, favour the supposition that he fulfilled this intention. To the interval between his first and second visit to Rome, Godeau, in his Life of St. Paul (lib. ii. 286) allows eight years, Massutius rather more ; Baronius the same, adding " that it was time enough for him to travel through the whole Avorld." The question now returns. Where did St. Paul spend all this time ? It is not likely that a person of such an ardent zeal shoTild remain inactive during this period. The testimonies of Clement and others, as we shall find, lead to the conclusion that his mission extended to the boundaries of the West. And supposing that he went back into the eastern parts to revisit the churches he had planted, which it appears fi-om other Fathers that he did, still there would be sufficient time left for him to preach the gospel in Britain and other western parts. But while it is admitted that the Gospel was preached here in the days of the apostles, some learned men have doubted whether the circumstances of St. Paul would permit him to undertake that great western journey. This was the opinion of Dr. Lardner, who does not admit that the words of Clement prove what they have been adduced to establish : but is of opinion, that by the boimds of the West, we are to understand Italy as being in the West, and opposed to the countries of Asia. In reply to this, Clement tells us in his Epistle, that the apostle travelled to the utmost hounda * Hammond, "Of Schism," ch. iv. where the same way at Antioch, Corinth, and other he shows that these two apostles acted in places. 20 ST. Paul's western joukney. of the West, and whether he actually reached Britain or not, it may be asserted with confidence, that they mean something more than St. Paul's visit to Rome. That city could not, with any propriety, be called the extremity, or utmost boundary of the West ; and since the history of the Acts terminates with St. Paul's arrival at Rome, up to which period he certainly had made no such journey, it follows as a necessary consequence, that he must have undertaken it subsequent to his first imprisonment. Lardner further argues, that although it was the earnest wish of St. Paul to take a journey as far as Spain, he regards that more as his gwn private desire, than a purpose formed from the spirit of prophecy. Another objection to this western journey is, that the chronology of the apostle's life would hardly allow of it, for St. Paul is supposed not to have come to Rome until a. d. 62, in which case it must have been A. d. 64 when he was released ; and he could not have been much more than two years absent from Rome before his second confinement. But Bishop Stillingfleet regards the usual chronology as erroneous : and Bishop Burgess has ably defended the theory of that learned prelate, by showing that what has given rise to the common computation of St. Paul's ministry, was a mistake respecting the duration of Felix's govern- ment of Judea. Bishop Burgess clears up the matter, by proving that Felix Avas dismissed from his government in the second year of Nero ; and, there- fore, St. Paul might have come to Rome in the latter end of the second, or the beginning of the third year of Nero, that is, A. d. 56 or 57 ; so that his release would fall out in the year 59, if not in the latter end of the year 58. St. Paul would thus have about eight years until his second imprisonment for diffusing the gospel in various countries. The state of Britam too, during the reigns of Claudius and Nero, attracted the attention of the whole Roman empire, and the intercourse between the new proAince and the seat of government was daily increasing in importance. At that time there Avere no fewer than 48,000 Roman soldiers, including their auxiliaries, in this country, some of whom must have been well acquainted with the religion of Christ ; which seems to favour the hypothesis, that if St. Paul did not personally visit our shores, the blessings of Cliristianity, through his instrumentality, might be conveyed to our island. It has been further objected, that there are no certain monuments of churches planted by St. Paul in Italy, Gaul, Germany, or Spain. " ^^^lat certain monuments," says Bishop Stillingfleet, " are there of new churches planted by him in the East after his return?" Tlu' eastern writers, who THE TESTIMONY OF GILDAS. 21 were best acqiiainted with his travels, allot this time to his preaching in the West. But it is well observed by the learned M. Valserius, speaking of the preaching of St. Peter and St. Paul, " That we are not to judge of the planting of churches by the remaining annals and monuments ; because, on the one side, we are certain that their sound went out into all the earth ; and, on the other, great care was taken in the several persecutions, especially that of Diocletian, to burn all the monuments which concerned the Christian churches." From a passage in our oldest native historian, Gildas, Avho Avrote his History about the middle of the sixth century, it appears that the gospel was preached in Britain before the defeat of that '•' deceitful lioness," Boadicea, an event which occurred a. d. 61, when the apostles were in the very height of their evangelical career. The involved language of Gildas in the following passage has led to much misapprehension of his meaning, in which he speaks of a double shining of the Gospel ; the one, general, in the latter end of Tiberius' s reign ; the other, particular, and relating only to Britain, before a. d. 61. His words are: — "In the meantime, Christ, the true sun, afforded his rays — that is, the knowledge of His precepts — to this island, shivering with icy cold, and separated at a great distance from the visible Sun, not from the visible firmament, but from the supreme everlasting power of heaven : for we certainly know that, in the latter end of the reign of Tiberius, that Sun appeared to the whole world with his glorious beams, in which time his religion was propagated without any impediment, against the will of the Roman senate, death being threatened by that prince to all that should inform against the soldiers of Christ." Such is Stillingfleet's translation of this much disputed passage, from which not only he, but Collier and Bishop Burgess, consider it certain that Christianity was introduced into this country before the defeat of Boadicea. Dr. Giles's translation of this passage expresses more clearly the meaning of Gildas : — " Meanwhile these islands, stiff with cold and frost, and in a distant region of the world, remote from the visible sun, received the beams of light, that is, the holy precepts of Christ — who is the true Sun, and who shows to the whole world his splendour, not only from the temporal firmament, but from the height of heaven, which surpasses every thing temporal — at the latter part, as we know, of the reign of Tiberius Ca?sar, by whom his religion was propagated ^\ithout impediment, and death threatened to those who interfered with its professors." 22 THE TESTIMONY OF GILDAS. It is certain Gildas here speaks of a double shining of the gospel, one more general to the world, the other more particular to this island. In the commencement of his Epistle he undertakes to give some account of the ancient British Church, and laments the want of records to give him any certain information. " I shall not follow," says he, " the ^Titings and records of my own country, which (if ever there were any of them) have been consumed in the fires of the enemy, or have accompanied my exiled countrymen into distant lands ; but be guided by the relations of foreign ^vriters, which, being broken and interrupted in many places, are therefore by no means clear." He then proceeds to speak of the easy conquest of the Britons by the Romans, of the complete reduction of the island into a Roman province, of their revolt under Boadicea, and of their coinage of gold and silver with Caesars image. Then follows the passage — " In the mean time," k.c. This interea of the events mentioned by Gildas is limited, on one hand by that last mentioned by him, the defeat of Boadicea, a. d. 61 ; and on the other by events not far distant, such as the defeat of Caractacus, a. d. 51. The interval comprehends not more than ten years. The commencement of the interval is twelve years after the end of Tiberius's reign ; and includes the time of St. Paul's imprisonment at Rome, (a. d. 56 — 58), and the release of Caractacus's family, as well as of St. Paul, A. D. 58. It therefore follows from the testimony of Gildas, that the gospel was first preached in Britain before the year 61. CHAPTER III. TESTIMONIES OP ECCLESIASTICAL WRITERS TO ESTABLISH THE FACT, THAT THE BRITISH CHURCH WAS FOUNDED DURING THE APOSTOLIC AGE CARACTACU8 AND HIS FAMILY — BRAN — POMPONIA GB^ECINA CLAUDIA RUFINA. The following testimonies of the early ecclesiastical wi-iters from the first to the ninth century will contribute to establish the fact, that the British church was founded during the apostolic age, and by apostolic men, and by none so probably as St. Paul himseK, or some of his companions in his travels. Cent. I. The first and most important is the testimony of Clemens Romanus [a. d. 96], the intimate friend and fellow labourer of St. Paul. He says (1 Epist. ad Corinth. § 5), " St. Paul preached in the east and west, leaving behind him an illustrious record of his faith, having taught the whole world righteousness, and having travelled even to the utmost bounds of the West."* Cent. II. Irenceus [a. d. 178], who is but one step removed from St. John himself, having been brought up under the eye of St. Polycarp, the disciple of St. John. He asserts that the chxirch in his time was spread throughout the world ; and particidarly specifies the churches in Germany, Iberia (i. e. Spain), amongst the Celts (i. e. in Gaid and Britain), in the East, in Egypt, in Libya, and in the centre of the world, by which he no doubt means Palestine (lib. i. c. 2, 3). He is speaking of the Regula Fidei, or Rule of Faith, as the sacred treasure committed to the church, and says, " There is no difi'erence of faith or tradition in any of these countries ; but as the sun, God's creature, is one and the same in all the world, so also the preaching of the truth shines everywhere, and lighteth every one who will come to the knowledge of the truth." Living so near to the time of the apostle, Irenaeus may be considered as one of the most important witnesses * See Appendix, No. II. 24 TERTULLIAN HIPPOLYTUS. of the truths delivered by them. In early life we find him listening to the Christian instruction of the blessed St. Polycarp, whose manner of life, and the discourses he made to the people, he well remembered ; as well as his account of the familiar intercourse with the apostle St. John, and the survivors of those who had seen the Lord, and his rehearsals of their sayings, and of their accounts of the discourses and miracles of the Lord. At the end of the second, and the beginning of the third century [a. d. 193 — 220], Tertullian speaks of the church having extended to all the boun- daries of Spain, and the different nations of Gaixl, and parts of Britain, inaccessible to the Romans, but subject to Christ. His allusion to the fact is quite incidental ; but from the manner in which he introduces it, we can- not help concluding that it had been for some time established. He is aro-uing with the Jews, that the Messiah, whom they expected, was already come. His Avords are, " For in whom else have all nations believed but in Christ, who is already come? In whom have all other nations believed, Parthians, Medes, Elamites, &c., all the coasts of Spain, the various nations of Gaid, and parts inaccessible to the Romans, but now subject to Christ? In all which places the name of Christ, who is already come, now reigns." (Tertul. con. Judaeus, c. 7.) Tertullian was a man of too much understand- ing to expose himself to the contempt of the Jews by enumerating Gaul and Britain with other nations where Christ was worshipped, if there were no Christian churches in existence among them. Though Irenaeus and Tertullian, in their testimonies, do not expressly mention St. Paul, yet the conversion of Britain to Christianity is acknow- ledged by both ; and the planting of Christianity in Spain, and in the Celtic nations is recorded as the work of the apostles and their disciples. It is important as well as interesting to find such writers speaking of their prox- imity to the apostolic era, and consequently of the perfect competency of their testimony. " We are but of yesterday," says Tertullian, '' yet we have filled your empire, your cities, your islands, your castles, your cor- porate toAvns, your assemblies, your very camps, your tribes, your com- panies, your palace, your senate, your forum. Your temples alone are left to you." (Apologet. c. 37.) "We constitute," he elsewhere says, "almost the majority in every town." Cent. III. S. Hippolytus (a. D. 220) de XII Apostolis, p. 510, says, "St. Paul went as far as Illyricum, and Italy, and Spain, preaching the gospel." ORIGEN LACTANTIUS EUSEBIUS ATHANASITJS. 25 Origen [a. d. 230], whose assiduous labours converted many of the Arabs to Christianity, triumphantly asks — " When before the coming of Christ did the land of Britain agree in the worship of God ? When did the land of the Moors ? "When did the whole world together ? But now, by means of the churches which occupy the extent of the whole world, all the earth shouts with joy to the God of Israel." (In Ezek. Horn. IV.) And again, " The power of our Lord and Saviour is both with those, Avho in Britain are separated from our coasts, and with those in Mauritania, and with all who under the sun have believed in his name." (In Luc. Hom. VI.) Cent. IV. Lactantius [a. d. 306] says, " That Christianity spread itself into the east and west, so that there was scarce any corner of the earth so remote whither it had not pierced ; no nation so barbarous that was not reduced by it." (De Mort. Persec. c. 3). Arnobius [a. d. 306] too admires the rapidity with which the word of God had reached the Indians in the east, and the Britons in the west. (In Psalm cxlvii.) The next testimony is that of Eusehius, Bishop of Caesarea, [a. d. 325 — 340] who was intimately acquainted with the rise of aU churches, and wrote an ecclesiastical history out of the collections he made. In his third book of Evangelical Demonstrations, he undertakes to prove, "that the apostles who first preached the gospel to the world, could be no impostors or deceivers ;" and among other arguments, he makes use of this, " That although it were possible for such men to deceive their neighbours and countrymen with an improbable story, yet what madness was it for such illiterate men who understood only their mother tongue, to go about to deceive the world, by preaching the doctrine in the remotest cities and countries." And having named the Romans, Persians, Armenians, Par- thians, Indians, Scythians, he adds particularly, "that some passed over the ocean, to those which are called the British Isles.'' From whence he con- cludes, " that some more than human power did accompany the apostles, and that they were no light or inconsiderable men ; much less impostors and deceivers." In his Eccles. Hist. lib. iii. c. 4, he says, " Paul sent Crescens to Gaul, where he suffered death for the faith." St. Athanasius [a. d. 326] speaks of St. Paul's having preached as far as Illyricum, and did not hesitate even to return to Rome, and even to go to Spain, that, in proportion to the labour, he might receive the greater reward. [Vol. i. p. 737. edit. Commelin.] Again, when speaking of his ti-ial befoi-e 26 KPIPHANIUS — JEROME. the council of Sardica, in Illyria, a. d. 347, he says, "there were more than three hundred bishops present from the provinces of Eg}^t, Libya, Italy, Sicily, all Africa, Sardinia, the Spanish, Gallic, and British territories." (Apologia contra Arianos.) Epiphanius [a. d. 368] states, " That St. Peter and St. Paul did both constitute bishops at Rome, upon their going thence to preach the gospel in other places,'" (Haer. xxvii. n. 6) ; and he adds, "that St. Paul went towards Spain, but St. Peter frequently visited Pontus and Bithynia," which was agreeable to the design of his commission, there being so great a number of Jews in those parts. St. Jerome [a. d. 392] says, " That St. Paul, having been in Spain, went from one ocean to another, imitating the motion and course of the Sun of righteousness, of whom it is said, ' His going forth is from the end of heaven, and his circuit unto the ends of it ; ' and that his diligence in preaching extended as far as the earth itself."' (In Amos, c. v.) Elsewhere he says, " That St. Paul, after his imprisonment, preached the gospel in the western parts."' (De Script. Eccles.) St. Jerome also delivered his valuable testimony to the independence of our church at this time, and to her sufficiency for salvation. Of the latter he says, in his 13th epistle to Paulinus — " One may find the way to heaven with the same ease in Britain as at Jerusalem." Here her orthodoxy is compared with that of Jerusalem, " who is the mother of us all." Of the independence of the churches of Gaul, Britain, Africa, kc, he says, " All these churches worship the same Christ, and are governed by the same standard of faith. Neither is the church of the city of Rome supposed to be different from the rest of Christendom. However, if authority is insisted on, Orbis major est Urhe ; the rest of the Christian world is preferable to Rome ; and wherever a bishop is fixed, whether at Rome, or Eugubium, or Constantinople, Rhegium or Alexandria, the character and dignity of the office is the same." (Epist. ad Euagrium, Op. vol. i. p. 334.) St. John Chri/sostom, patriarch of Constantinople, [a. d. 398] in several parts of his writings refers to the faith of the British Church at this period. " The Britannic Isles," he says, " which lie beyond this sea (those, I mean, lying in the very ocean), have felt the power of the word : and even there churches are built, and altars erected." Tome vi. p. 635. Again, " Whether you go to the ocean, even to the British Isles, or sail to the Euxine Sea, or go to the Nortli, you will hear them everywhere teaching wisdom out of the Scriptures, each indeed differing in voice, but not in faitli — in language, but THEODOKET VENANTIUS FORTUNATUS, ETC. 27 not in sentiment :" Tome \-iii. p. 3. So again, " To whatever quarter you turn — to the Indians or Moors, or Britons, even to the remotest bounds of the West, you will find this doctrine : ' In the beginning was the Word,' and with it all the means of holiness of life." Cent. V. Theodoret, Bishop of Cyropolis, [a. d. 423-460] upon the word of the apostle, 2 Tim. iv. 16, 17, observes, "When Paul, dismissed by Festus, was by him sent to make his appeal at Rome, and after a hearing acquitted, he travelled into Spain, and thence making excursions into other nations, he brought to them the light of the gospel." And elsewhere, speaking of the nations converted by the apostles, he expressly names the Britons ; and on Psalni cxvi. he says, " The blessed apostle St. Paul teaches us, in a few words, to how many nations he carried the sacred doctrines of the gospel ; so that from Jerusalem round about unto Illyricum, he fully preached the gospel of Christ. He went afterwards also to Italy and Spain, and carried salvation to islands which lie in the ocean." Cent. VI. Venantius Fortunatus [a. d. 560-600] says, " St. Paul passed over the ocean to the island of Britain, and to Thule, the extremity of the earth." (In Vita S. Martini, lib. iii.) Cent. VII. Sophronius, patriarch of Jerusalem, quoted by Godwin, de Pr^sul., page 8, expressly asserts, that " St. Paul visited our island of Britain." Cent. IX. Nicephorus, [a. d. 806] in one passage where he is speaking of the provinces chosen by the apostles for their preaching, says, that " one went to Egj^t and Libya, and another to the extreme countries of the ocean, and to the British isles." (Hist. lib. i. ch. 1.) In another, that "Simon Zelotes entered the western ocean, and preached the gospel in the British isles." (Ibid. lib. ii. ch. 40.) These passages of Nicephorus are here quoted, not for the sake of the fact mentioned in the latter passage, in which he was perhaps mistaken, but for the relation which his language (the extreme boimcls of the ocean, the ivestern ocean, and the British Isles) bears to the words of Clement. To these few testimonies we might add many others, all of which contribute to establish the fact, that the British Church was founded during the apostolic age, and by apostolic men, and by none so probably as the great apostle of the Gentiles. In the Epistle to the Romans, as we have seen, he expresses his earnest desire to visit Spain, and if that desire was gratified, we may naturally conclude, that the province of Gaul also was traversed ; 28 ST. Paul's westeun journey. and in that case, it must be admitted to be far from improbable that Britain, an acquisition of the Romans, much talked of at that time, and easily reached from Gaul, might have been honoured with St. Paul's presence. Between Rome and Britain, too, there was a 'frequent intercourse,* and what was practicable to St. Augustine in the sixth century, could not have been difficult to St. Paul in the first. A pilgrimage from Britain to Jerusalem was much more difficult ; yet that was very common between the fourth and sixth centuries. Indeed, those who doubt the reality of St. Paul's journey to Britain, are willing to admit that he might have conveyed the glad tidings of salvation to this country by his disciples and converts : the testimonies, however, of Clement, Hippolytus, Jerome, Theodoret, Venantius Fortu- natus, and Sophronius, relate personally to St. Paul. To the authorities of the historians of the first nine centuries, may be added that of the learned Archbishop Parker, who states his persuasion that St. Paul preached the gospel to the Britons between his first and second imprisonment at Rome ; and with him agree also Camden, Stillingfleet, Ussher, Gibson, Godwin, Rapin, Burgess, Soames, and many others, who have closely examined this subject, and who are all decided in their opinion, that St. Paul was the founder of the British church. After St. Paid returned from the West, he revisited Asia Minor, and in all probability he saw Jerusalem before he died. "When he came to Rome for the last time, he evidently approached it from the East, having been not long before at Miletus and Troas. In his Second Epistle to Timothy, which appears to have been his last, there are many traces of a warm persecution. In ch. iv. 16, he speaks of his^rs^ defence ; from which we must infer, that he had either already made a second, or that he expected soon to be called upon to do so. Demas, Crescens, and Titus had left Rome (iv. 10); he himself having sent Tychicus to Ephesus (12), declares his certain con- fidence, that the time of his death was dra^ving near (iv. 6), and earnestly requests Timothy to come to him soon, and if possible before winter. Whether his beloved son in the faith ever saw him again, or whether his ovm life was spared till winter, we can never know : but there is every probability, that the martyrdom of this blessed apostle followed very shortly after the writing of this Epistle. The exact date of his death has been much contested ; but most modern writers have been inclined to adopt that of the year 67. * The commercial communication between Whitaker, and by Macpherson in his History Spain, Gaul, and Britain is largely attested by of Commerce. CARACTACUS. 29 There also several other circumstances, connected with the history of Caractacus and his family, which seem to favour the probability of St. Paul's visit to Britain. It was in the year 50 that Ostorius Scapula succeeded Plautius, as propraetor of Britain. Upon the departure of Plautius, those Britons who were struggling for independence overran the lands of such as had allied themselves with the Romans, and Ostorius on his arrival found affairs in the greatest confusion. The fate of Britain at this time depended upon the military talents of Caractacus, who having for nine years opposed the Roman arms, was at length compelled to retire among the Silures in South Wales. It is the opinion of many wTiters that the final battle between Ostorius and Caractacus took place in the year 51. Of this battle Tacitus has given us the following description: — "Caractacus," says he, " chose a place every way incommodious to the Roman army, every way favourable to his own. The place where he encamped was the ridge of a mountain exceedingly steep, and where its sides were approachable he raised large stones by way of a wall or rampart. At the foot of the mountain flowed a river dangerous to be forded, and a host of men guarded his entrenchment."'^' The few moments which preceded this decisive battle were employed by this undaunted Briton in animating his soldiers. But their valour was unequally opposed to the force of discipline, and the British camp was stormed with great slaughter, though not without considerable resistance. In this battle the wife and daughter of the British chief were taken prisoners, and his brothers soon after surrendered them- selves. Caractacus himself survived this misfortune to experience a more cruel destiny; he was betrayed with his aged father, Bran,f by Cartis- mandua, queen of the Brigantes, into the hands of Ostorius, and was sent to Rome as a prisoner of the first importance. The magnanimity of Caractacus, when he was exhibited as a public spectacle at Rome, has been the frequent subject of encomiimi. His body was almost naked, and painted with figures of animals, with a chain of iron about his neck, and another about his middle, the hair of his head hanging * There is a lofty hill in Shropshire, near to the castle or fortified place of Caradoc, supposed to confluence of the rivers Colne and Teme, which be the British name of Caractacus. — Cabinet is generally believed to be the scene of the hero's Hist, of Eng. i. 34. last action. Its ridges are furrowed by trenches, -)• Bran is not mentioned by Tacitus; but that and still retains fragments of a loose stone he was among the captives taken to Rome we rampart, and the hill for many centuries has learn from British Historians. See Myvyrian been called by the people Caer-Caradoc, or the Archeeology, vol, ii. p. 63, Triads IS and 35. 30 CARACTACUS AND BRAN. down in long locks covered his back and shoulders, and the hair of his upper lip being parted on both sides lay upon his breast. Standing erect, he craved no mercy as did the rest of the captives ; but went boldly on till he came before the emperor's seat. His unbroken spirit and noble demeanour, when addressing Claudius in the following manner, commanded the admiration of the assembly. " If the moderation of my mind in prosperity," says he, "had been answerable to my quality and fortune, I might have come a friend rather than a captive into this city ; and you without dishonour might have entered into league with me, loyally descended, and then at the head of many nations. As my state at present is disgraceful, so yours is honourable and glorious ! I was master of horses, men, arms, and riches. ^Vhy, then, is it strange that I was imwilling to lose them. But since your power and empire must be universal, we, of course, among all others must be subject. If I had immediately yielded, neither my fortune, nor your glory would have been so eminent in the world. My grave would have buried the memory of" it as well as me, whereas, if you suffer me to live now, your clemency will live in me for ever, as an example to after ages." (Tacitus, Annals, lib. xii.). The emperor gene- rously granted the noble hero his request, and he was spared the death which the cruel policy of Rome too commonly inflicted on captured princes. Caractacus remained at Rome in the highest esteem for some time after his release, but his subsequent history is unknown. Hitherto in our notices of this remarkable family we have been supported by the testimony of authentic witnesses ; but what follows, as it respects Bran, the father of Caractacus, having been the first herald of salvation to his countrymen, is beset with many difficulties which it is to be feared are insurmountable. In the investigation of this popular tradition, the reader will find himself in a continvial conflict between classical historians and Welsh documents. That the Triads which relate to so early a period as the first and second century should prove inaccurate in matters of detail might.be expected; but as they may have originated in an obscure notice of facts, they are deserving of respect, and should not be relinquished without a careful examination. According to the Triads,* and more especially the Silurian copies of Achau y Saint, or the Genealogy of the Saints, it is said that Bran ab L1}t, and his son Caradog, or Caractacus, were betrayed to the Romans through * Triads 18 and 35, Third Series, My v. Arclwol. vol. ii. BRAN, THE BLESSED. 31 the treachery of Aregwedd Foeddog, generally understood to be Cartis- mandua. He was detained at Rome as a hostage for his son seven years, and by this means obtained an opportunity of embracing the Christian faith. Upon his return he brought with him three, or according to others, four teachers of the names of Hid, Cyndaf, Arwystli Hen, and Mawan ; and through their instrumentality the gospel was first preached in this country. According to a manuscript preserved in the Harleian Collection at the British Museum, Bran also shared the captivity of his family, and was conveyed with them to Rome, where he was detained with them as a hostage for the peaceable conduct of the valiant Caractacus, who is said to have been permitted with his wife and daughter to return immediately to Britain, and on that account was called Bendigaid, or "the blessed;" he died about the year 80. Such is the collective statement of the Welsh authorities, and it is so far plausible, that Bishop Stillingfleet, without being aware of this testimony, conjectured that a similar circumstance was likely to have taken place. If the accoiint were correct, the return of Bran must have happened in A. D. 58, allowing seven years to elapse from the capture of Caractacus, which occurred a. d. 51. This tradition has not obtained implicit credit even among the Welsh, although Dr. Southey prefers it to the other narratives. In a conflict, however, with classical historians the Welsh traditions must give way. For we find that Tacitus, who mentions the capture or surrender of the several members of the family of Caractacus, and describes the appearance of the same persons seriatim before the emperor Clavidius, says nothing of Bran."'"' When the historian twice particularizes the wife, daughter, and brothers of the captive chieftain, the omission of so important a personage as his father aff'ords a strong presumption that he was not at Rome, and had not been taken prisoner. The invasion of Britain, and the capture of Caractacus must have excited considerable interest at Rome. The senate was summoned together, many speeches were delivered, and the triumphal honours were decreed to Ostorius. St. Paul, who was now at Rome, could not continue unac- quainted with these transactions ; nor was it possible for one like him, to feel indifferent to events that aff'ected the happiness or misery of mankind, by deciding the fate of nations. It is not at all improbable, therefore, that St. Paul should have become acquainted with some of these captives, by means of some of the saints in Caesar's household ; and when liberated, he * Tacitus's Annals, XII. 17, 35, .36. 32 POMPONIA GR^.CINA. might have been induced to have undertaken a voyage to the utmost bounds of the west at the time when the British captives were returning to their native land. " It is certain," says Bishop Stillingfleet, " that St. Paul did make considerable converts at his coming to Rome, which is the reason of his mentioning the saints in Caesar's household. And it is not improbable that some of the British captives carried over with Caractacus and his family, might be some of them." There are also other circumstances which seem to favour the proba- bility of St. Paul's visit to Britain, and sufficient to encourage a much less zealous missionary than the great apostle of the Gentiles to undertake a journey into these parts. There were two distinguished ladies at Home at this period, both natives of Britain, who had embraced Christianity: one was Pomponia Grsecina, the other, Claudia Rufina. Pomponia Grsecina was the wife of Aulus Plautius, the first governor of Britain, and one of the most distinguished of Claudius's generals. The following is the account which Tacitus gives us of this lady : — " Pomponia Graecina, an illustrious lady, the wife of Aulus Plautius (who, upon his retvirn from Britain, had been honoured with an ovation,) being accused of having embraced a foreign superstition, her trial was committed to her hus- band. He, according to the ancient institutions of Rome, having made solemn inquiry, in the presence of her relations, respecting any charges affecting her life and reputation, pronounced her innocent. After this, Pom- ponia's life was protracted through a long course of melancholy years."* That Christianity is here meant by the "foreign superstition" is evident from the heathen writers of that time, such as Suetonius, Pliny, and others. This trial took place, according to Stillingfleet, when Nero and Calpurnius Piso Avere consuls (a. r». 57) after St. Paul's arrival at Rome, which makes it probable that she was one of his converts ; by whom he may be in- formed of the state and condition of Britain. It is certain, however, from Philippians iv. 22, that certain eminent persons had embraced the faith, from his mentioning "the saints in Caesar's household." Pomponia sur- vived until the year 83, which would afford her many opportunities for taking a lively interest in the spiritual welfare of her native country. The other lady, Claudia, mentioned with Pudens (2 Tim. iv. 21), and supposed to have been Claudia Rufina, the wife of Pudens, a lady of whom Martial has spoken in terms which convey the strongest impressions of her * Tacit. Annal. lib. xiii, c. .32. CLAUDIA RUFINA. 33 beauty and accomplishments, and to whom he alludes as a native of Britain. The Rev. Canon Bowles has given us a most ingenious and satisfactory piece of critical and classical reasoning on the passage of Scripture referred to, of which the following is an outline. At the time of St. Paul's first examination before Nero, Caractacus was in Rome, and Claudia, there are reasons to believe, was his daughter, so named from Claudius, his conqueror ; but in the second epistle of St. Paul to Timothy, Claudia is joined with Pudens: — "Eubulus greeteth thee, and Pudens, and Linus, and Claudia." Now it is remarkable that the detention in Rome of the British hostages was coincident with St. Paul's residence there as a prisoner, and that the British captives, Avith their king Caractacus should be released, a. d. 58, in the very year in which St. Paul was set at liberty after his first examination. The next step in the argument leads it successfully on. Claudia, a British lady, the supposed daughter of Caractacus, and afterwards married to Pudens, remained in Rome. It will be obvious that she, who witnessed at Rome the apostle's faith and constancy, and who was afterwards converted to that faith, would be anxious respecting her distant friends in her father- land. This is a reasonable and legitimate argument ; but it may be asked. How do we know that Claudia was a British lady, and wife to Pudens ? Mr. Bowles answers, by a remarkable circumstance. Martial was at Rome about the same time, and lived there about thirty-five years. In one of his epigrams after Claudia's marriage, he says, " Claudia coeruleis cum sit Rufina Britannis Edita, quam Latifc pectora plebis babet? Quale decus formee ! Romanam credere matres Italides possunt, Atthides esse suam." — Lib. xi. Epig. 54. "From painted Britons how was Claudia born ! The fair barbarian ! how do arts adorn I When Roman charms a*Grecian soul commend, Athens and Rome may for the dame contend." We shall now quote Mr. Bowles's own words : — " In the year 60 of the Christian era, St. Paul says, in his epistle to the Romans, ' Salute Rufus." But six years afterwards, in the second epistle to Timothy, he says, 'Eubulus greeteth thee, and Pudens, and Linus, and Claudia: Now a celebrated citizen of Rome, at this time, called Rufus, was afterwards married to a British lady, called from the custom of having the names from high Romans, Claudia from Claudius; and this Rufus distinguished for F 34 CLAUDIA RUFINA. wisdom and virtue, received, it is said, on account of his modesty and wtues, and gentleness, the name of Pudens; by this name probably distinguished as a Christian convert, first called Rtifus, as in the epistle to the Romans, ' Chosen Sf the Lord.' Let any thinking man weigh this singular circum- stance. Without the remotest design, Rufus is mentioned by St. Paul in the epistle to the Romans ; and in the epistle to Timothy, Pudens is joined in the same sentence with Claudia, and that Claudia was married to Rufus, called afterwards Pudens, and that she was a Briton, is clear from the lines of Martial : and thus one line of a contemporary poet proves accidentally two things, both remarkable — that Clavidia was a British lady married to Rufus, and therefore called Claudia Rufina, and that this Rufus was after- wards called Pudens.'' Mr. Bowles then quotes Martial's epigram upon Claudia's marriage with Pudens : " Claudia, Rufe, meo nubit Peregrina Pudenti : Macte esto tsedis, O Hymensee, tuis !" — Lib, iv, Epig. 13. " O Rufus ! Pudens whom I own my friend, Has ta'en the foreign Claudia for his wife. Propitious Hymen, light thy torcli, and send Long years of bliss to their united life ! " Thus Claudia was married at Rome, in the life time of St. Paul, before the second examination of the apostle. " It is known,'" continues Mr. Bowles, " from imperishing history, that as soon as Claudia heard that speech which will never die, spoken by the stern British chief in his chains, these chains the magnanimous emperor ordered to be cast at his feet. And who can think, but at that interesting moment, when the stern British chief, who had defied for nine years the disciplined legions of the invader, stood before the throne of the conqueror, that Claudius, so exalted by his magnanimity and clemency, or Agrippina, might have taken pity, struck perhaps by the child" s innocence and beauty in such a scene, and Claudius might have adopted her, and given that name which a holy historian and more eloquent than Tacitus has made immortal ; and how much must the interest increase, if we think, that through her, like another Una, not fictitious, the rage of the lion, ' from whose mouth Paul was delivered,' became calm at the voice of innocence and a British born virgin."* * Besides Carte, Hist, of England, i. 134, Stillingfleet believe the Claudia of 2 Tim. iv, Leland De Scrip. Brit. 17, 18; Ussher and 21, to be the Claudia Rufina of Martial. CHAPTER IV. EARLY CHURCH GOVERNMENT — PRIMITIVE MODE OF PROPAGATING THE GOSPEL ORIGIN OF CATHEDRAL INSTITUTIONS TRADITION OF GLASTONBURY ST. ARISTOBULUS THE FIRST BISHOP OF BRITAIN. In a former chapter we showed that the Christian Church was intended to be a visible society, in Avhich the gospel was to be preached, the sacraments administered, and the worship of God celebrated in an open and public manner. We also referred to its imiversality. Unlike the Jewish Church, which was confined to one people and one country, it was designed to comprehend all the nations of the earth, both Jews and Gentiles, although it is evident that many of the Christian institutions bear an express analogy and similitude to the legal customs of the Jewish Church : such as the baptism of children to the baptism of the children of proselytes — the Lord's Supper to the Paschal Lamb — liturgies among Christians to Forms of Prayer among Jews — Bishops, Presbyters, and Deacons, to the High Priest, Priests, and Levites. In short, ordination by imposition of hands is derived from the pattern under the old law, as well as that of excommunication. We have also seen in what manner the Church was governed whilst its Founder lived on earth, and also during the ajDOstolic age by those to whom he entrusted its administration. We proceed now to ascertain, as far as possible, the practice adopted by the apostles and the primitive Church, for the conversion of the nations to the faith of Christ, and its permanent establishment in any particular country ; and particularly as it bears upon the ecclesiastical polity observed in the early British Church. We learn from the New Testament, that the Chubch is the one great incorporated society by which all missionary operations were planned and executed ; and by which the msdom of God" is made known to principalities and powers in heavenly places. From the general commission which Christ gave to his apostles — " Go ye into all the world, and preach 36 EARLY CHUKCH GOVERNMENT. the Gospel to every creature" — it is evident they could not remain for any length of time in one place. Hence we find them making provision for a full and settled regular ministry in the churches they founded. St. Paul appointed St. Timothy and St. Titus as superintendents of the churches of Ephesus and Crete respectively. " Wherefore I put thee in remembrance, that thou stir up the gift of God that is in thee, by the laying on of my hands'" (2 Tim. i. 6). " For this cause left I thee in Crete, that thou shouldest set in order the things that are wanting, and ordain elders in every city, as I had appointed thee " (Titus i. 5). " Lay hands suddenly on no man" (1 Tim. v. 22). The whole tenor of the Epistles obviously pre-supposes an appointment, or setting apart, by the apostle, of these two eminent men for the performance of certain sacred functions. He also empowers them to preside over those whom they had ordained as presbyters or deacons ; as well as to regidate matters of doctrine and discipline in their respective districts. When the Church at Jerusalem was committed to the permanent care of St. James, before the apostles left it, there was a College of Presbyters ordained about the same time. This is not expressly mentioned in the Acts, any more than the election of St. James ; but it is remarkable, that as the first time St. James is mentioned with any character of distinction is in the twelfth chapter of that book, so the presbyters are first spoken of in the last verse of the eleventh chapter ; and they are there mentioned in such a manner as plainly shows them to be concerned in the care of the Church. If we descend from the Scriptures to the earliest records of the next age, we shall find the same model of Church government — that of presbyters and deacons acting in conjunction with their bishop.* Though presbyters were admitted to a sort of partnership in the pastoral charge with the * The lover of a genuine Christian antiquity, consent, and amicable concurrence of his Pres- to verify the above statements, cannot do better bjters, it arose, that they vrere allowed to sit than turn to the pages of our ilkistrious country- together with our Bishop in the church ; and man, Bingham. His very order of Cathedral their seats were dignified with the names of seats, stalls, or thrones, from the earliest period thrones, as the Bishop's was ; only with this of Christian "decency and order," may edify, difference, that his was the high, and theirs the while it surprises a novice in ecclesiastical second ones ; whence Constantine, following the antiquity. "From the honour and respect that custom of the church, summoning Chrestus, we paid in the earliest periods to the Presbyters, Bishop of Syracuse, to the Council of Aries, acting in conjunction with their i5ishop, who bids him also to bring with him two of the scarce did anything in the administration and second throne, that is two Presbyters." — government of the Church without the advice, A/tlir/, Ecrles. hook i. cli. 18. EARLY CHURCH GOVERNMENT. 37 bishop, (whence Cyprian, bishop of Carthage, often calls them compresbyters, his fellow-presbyters,) yet they could not do any ecclesiastical act without the Bishop's allowance, and were liable to be censured by him when they made any such attempt. Still, the presbytery has its peculiar and subordinate functions, which may never be taken away. Among them is a participation in the government of the diocesan Church. Nothing can be plainer than this in the epistles of St. Cyprian. " From the beginning of my episcopate," he says to his presbyters, " I resolved to do nothing by my own private judgment, without your counsel, and the consent of the people." (Epist. V.) There was a presbytery, or college of elders, in the place where St. Timothy was ordained ; for it was by the imposition of their hands that he received his orders (1 Tim. iv. 14). Yet this was not done without an apostle ; for the gift in this passage which is said to be conferred on him by the presbytery, in 2 Tim. i. 6, is stated to have been given him by the imposition of St. Paul's hands. The same form is at present enjoined in the rubric of the English Church — " After prayer is done, the bishop with the priests present shall lay their hands severally upon the head of every one that receiveth the order of priesthood." From the Acts of the holy apostles we learn, that the apostles were often attended with one or more of the other two orders of ministers. In the beginning of St. Faul's travels, when Barnabas accompanied him, John, whose surname was Mark, attended on them as their minister or deacon (Acts xii. 12 — 25, xiii. 5 — 13). When St. Paul parted from St. Barnabas, he took with him Silas or Silvanus, who was a prophet. Afterwards Paul admitted some others into his company, and particularly Timotheus and Titus. The learned Cave, in his lives of the primitive fathers, quotes Chrysostom for the opinion, that St. Paul, in order to constitute St. Timothy and St. Titus, bishops of Ephesus and Crete, detached them from his own company, while he kept his other brethren with him to accompany him in his missionary travels. But Timothy and Titus were not for a moment left alone. They were " to ordain elders in every city," doubtless to act in the Presbyterial College of which they were especially consecrated — as President, Angel, or very soon by the exclusive title of Bishop. The arrival of the Sacred College of Ephesus, to meet the apostle at Miletus, is perfectly intelligible on this principle ; the head is not mentioned, perhaps had not as yet been named (which Timothy afterwards became by especial designation) ; the body were the Membra Episcopatns Ephesini. Cave 38 OKIGIN OF CATIIEDKALS. further reports, that " Clement tells the Corinthians how the apostles, preaching up and down cities and countries, constituted their first fruits to be the bishops and deacons of those who should believe ; thus by an extra- ordinary and miraculous way choosing bishops and ecclesiastical officers, in order, besides other advantages, to beget a veneration for the governors of the Church."* The existence of any national church without episcopal government is an anomaly, of which no instance can be found in Christian antiquity. The course of proceeding, usually adopted by the primitive Church for the conversion of any new district or country, was by the mission of a bishop with his clergy, the erection of a See, and the building of a collegiate or metropolitan church, f This was not the result, but the means, of conversion. It was the first aggressive efibrt upon any new territory which was to be subsequently subdued to the kingdom of Christ. In her first planting, and almost wherever she has been propagated with success, the Church went out as a whole, completely organized, fully furnished in all things. A bishop going out to convert the heathen, evolves a Chuix'h from himself by his apostolical powers, and transmits to it the perfect creed he has brought with him. Each Church was placed as a city upon a hill amid a surrounding country of heathenism, and gradually carrying on its missionary office by spreading itself all around from the spot where it was first planted. The clergy usually resided with the Bishop at the Cathedral Church, and their parochice or circuits of preaching, within the bounds of his diocese, were xinder his immediate regulation. The mother church of each diocese was considered the spring and centre of the entire system — the spring, inasmuch as from it went out the virtue which converted the * Life of St. Timothy. tlie one, if ever the sacrilegious avarice of f " For most certain truth it is," says the atheists should prevail so far, (which God of judicious Hooker, "that churches, cathedrals, his infinite mercj' forbid !) ought no otherwise and the bishops of them, are as glasses, wherein to move us than the people of God were moved, the face and very countenance of apostolical when having beheld the sack and combustion antiquity remaineth even as yet to be seen, of his sanctuary in most lamentable maimer notwithstanding the alterations which tract of flaming before their eyes, they uttered from time, and the course of the world hath brought. the bottom of their grieved spirits, those voices In defence and maintenance of them we are of doleful supplication — ' Arise, O Lord, and most earnestly bound to strive, even as the Jews have mercy upon Sion : for thy servants think were for the temple, and the High Priest of upon her stones ; and it pitieth them to see God therein; the overthrow and the ruin of her in the dust.' " GLASTONBTJRY TRADITION. 39 surrounding villages to Christ; and the centre, inasmuch as it bound the inferior clergy in one by binding them to itself. The rule by which the apostles were guided, in first planting and establishing the Church, was, wherever they found a civil magistracy settled in one place, there to settle an ecclesiastical one. The Roman Empire was thus divided and subdivided into patriarchates, provinces, dioceses, and parishes ; so that wheresoever the people in general came together for the administration of civil justice, there the faithful should have recourse for spiritual direction. Eusebius,* however, incidentally mentions another order of ministers engaged in propagating the Gospel, called Evangelists, who appear to have acted as pioneers and forerunners of a stationary ministry, and who, when blessed with success, resigned that field to some stated pastor, and moved on to fresh wilds and places of destitution. Having shown in the preceding chapter, on the testimony of early fathers, the very great probability that the British Church was founded by one of the apostles at least, if not by St. Paul himself, we proceed to the investigation of the tradition which connects the first conversion of this island with the coming of Joseph of Arimathea and his twelve companions, and their settling at Glastonbury. It is but reasonable to suppose, that where the voice of tradition has been strong, unvarying, and continued, it contains at least the outlines of truth ; and it would be as absurd to reject all it utters, as it would be dangerous to receive all its amplifications and details. The tradition of Glastonbury, whatever be its character, at least bears witness to an ancient belief, that institutions of bodies of clergy were instrumental in the first establishment of Christianity among us ; and the possession of the twelve hides of land by the abbey of Glastonbury, taken in connection with the frequent adoption of that number in missionary efforts (in memory of the apostles), furnishes a strong presumption, that such was the original number of the body so employed. Moreover, it was the early and constant belief of our forefathers, that this nation was converted to the faith of Christ by those who had been the disciples of our Lord. This runs through all our histories and even through some of our regal acts and ancient records. In the charter granted by Henry II. a.d. 1185, for the rebuilding of Glastonbury church which had been burnt, the king, having mentioned many of his predecessors who had granted charters of liberties, exemptions, &;c. to this church, by his present charter confirms * Lib. iii. cli. 37. 40 GLASTONBURY TRABITION. the whole " to the aforesaid church, which was anciently styled, the mother of the saints ; and by others, the burying-place of the saints."* We now subjoin the substance of the history of Glastonbury ,f which was afterwards so much heightened and improved, as the monks of the later abbey thought convenient for the honour and privileges of their monastery. It is taken from the work of William of Malmesbury, " The Antiquity of the Church of Glastonbury." This writer, after some prefatory discourse to Henry of Blois, nephew to king Henry I. and at that time Bishop of Winchester, and Abbot of Glastonbury, proceeds -with the following narrative : " After the glorious resurrection and triumphant ascension of our blessed Saviour and the descent of the Holy Ghost, the success of the Gospel began to spread, the number of believers increased daily, and all of them maintained such a friendly and charitable correspondence, that they seemed to have but one heart and one soul. The Jewish priests with the scribes and the pharisees, growing envious at the progress of Christianity, stirred up a persecution against the Church, murdered the protomartyr, St. Stephen, and made the country too troublesome for the rest. Thus the storm blowing hard in Judea, the disciples dispersing went off into several countries, according to their respective commissions ; and as they travelled along, preached the Gospel to the Gentiles. Amongst these holy men, St. Philip, as Freculphus relates (lib. ii. cap. 4.), arriving in the territories of the Franks, converted a great number of them ; and being desirous to enlai'ge his Master's dominion, he picked out twelve of his disciples, and dispatched them to preach the Gospel in Britain — Joseph of Arimathea, as it is said, being one of the number, and constituted a superior to the rest. These holy missionaries, coming into Britain a. d. 63, published the doctrine of Christ with great industry and courage. But the barbarous kingj" with his subjects, being somewhat alarmed at so unusual an undertaking, and not relishing a persuasion so different from his own, refused to become a proselyte ; but in consideration of the length of their voyage, and being somewhat charmed with their unexceptionable behaviour, gave them a little spot of grounds * Wilkins's Concilia, vol. i. p. 489. a land rising above the waters, forming- a cluster I Glastonbury at first was a British military of hills, extremely fertile and verdant, and called post, and the town was founded by the Romans, by the Romans, Insulse Avaloniie, The Island of or Roman Britons, by whom it was called Inis- Avalon, or the Isle of Apples, being surrounded ?c(7rm, or the island of transparent water, from with a marsh, and occasionally covered with the numerous springs in its environs, and from water, owing to the tides of the Bristol Channel, its situation, isolated amidst rivers and streams, J The king is said to be Arviragus. GI.ASTONBXJKY TRADITION. 41 surrounded with fens and bushes to dwell m. This place was called Inis- imtrin by the natives, and situated upon the confines of his dominions. Afterwards two other pagan kings, being affected with their remarkable sanctity, gave each of them a certain portion of ground ; and at their request settled twelve hides of land upon them, by instruments in writing, according to the custom of the country ; from whence it is supposed the twelve hides, now part of the Abbey's estate, had their denomination. " These holy men being thus settled in this place, which was no better than a wilderness, built a church in honour of the blessed Virgin, in a place to which they were supernaturally directed, the walls of which were made of osiers twisted together, having little of ornament in the figure, but very remarkable for the Divine presence, and the beauty of holiness. And this being the first church in this island, it was honoured with a jjarticular distinction, by being dedicated to the Virgin Mary. These twelve holy men above mentioned, serving God with extraordinary devotion in this place, and spending great part of their time in watching, fasting, and prayer, were supported under all the difficulties of their condition." That part of the tradition, however, which relates to the mission of Joseph of Arimathea, as we have already stated, must be considered as entirely fabulous, unsupported as it is by any early writer. It is not improbable that the first predicators of the gospel may nevertheless have unfolded its saving truths in the vicinity of Glastonbury. For there cannot be any doubt of the presence of the Romans at this place during their earliest transactions in Britain, and of their occupation of it as long as they continued in this country. Various traces of Roman roads may be detected in different places, all pointing to the spot ; and many Roman coins have been turned up either on the Abbey enclosure, or at the foot of the Torr Hill. It is said that the first church was erected at Glastonbury ; and this tradition may seem to deserve credit, because it was not contradicted in those ages when other churches would have found it profitable to advance a similar pretension. Stillingfieet, although he shows the improbability of the mission of Joseph, acknowledges that a monastery was fovmded here by king Ina, on the spot where an ancient British Church formerly stood. When the Romans left the country, and the wars began with the Saxons, it is very probable that many of the chief saints of that day sought refuge at Glastonbury (as they are known to have fled to woods and forests), and that they obtained from 42 ST. ARISTOBULITS. Arthur those twelve hides of land which laid the foundation of the subsequent Abbey. From what has been advanced, it appears evident that Christianity was planted in this country during the apostolic age ; but what progress it made, in what parts churches were founded, and under whose superintendence, is somewhat obscure. It is mentioned in the Greek Martyrology, as cited by Archbishop Ussher"^' that St. Aristobulus, whose household is mentioned in Rom. xvi. 10, was ordained by St. Pavd, and appointed the fii'st Bishop of the Britons, and being very severely treated by the inhabitants at last suffered martyrdom, having made many converts, and formed them into churches, with ecclesiastical governors to take care of them. Cressy also says, that St. Aristobulus, a disciple of St. Peter or St. Paul at Rome, was sent as an apostle to the Britons, and was their first Bishop ; that he died at Glastonbury, A. D. 99, and that his Commemoration or Saint's day was kept in the church, March 15th. In the Silurian catalogue mention is made of Arwystli, who by some commentators is identified with St. Aristobidus. The formation of the name from the Greek would be in perfect accordance with the analogy of the Welsh language. Dorotheus, in his Synopsis^ likewise affirms that Aristobidus was made Bishop of Britain. Although this appointment is not so amply attested as the visit of St. Paul to this country, yet there is nothing in it, as Bishop Burgess confesses, contradictory to any recorded circumstances of St. Aristobulus's life. Such an appoint- ment was a necessary consequence of the establishment of a Church in Britain, from the examples already produced of the practice of the apostles. There are sufficient testimonies to prove that the Church never became extinct in this island after it was first planted ; but that the first bishop ordained his successors, as we find as early as the year 180, Sampson, bishop of York, and Theanus, bishop of London. f With regard to the spread of Christianity in Britain at the close of the first century, it must be considered that the intercourse between different parts of the island was exceedingly difficult, until the Romans had completed their great roads ; and even then we know what obstructions the faithful would meet with in the public profession of Christianity, from the jealousy of the Roman government. Many causes would also tend to prevent the communications between the Roman and the British christians, and par- ticularly the difference in their languages. * Britan. Eccles. Antiq. p. 9. f Bishop Godwin and Dr. Heylin. CHAPTER V. THE GALLICAN CHURCH — THE BRITISH CHURCH DURING THE SECOND CENTURY — HISTORICAL NOTICES OF LUCIUS HIS SUPPOSED LETTER TO ELUTHERIUS •^THE FOUNDATION OF THE BISHOPRIC OF LLANDAPF. Having already shown the great probability of the foundation of a Christian Church in Britain during the apostolic age, we proceed now to consider the historical notices of it in the second century. It is indeed by no means easy to determine, with any degree of certainty, the different countries into which the gospel was first introduced in this age. Justin Martyr, who flourished about the year 140, speaks of its extensive propagation in these remarkable words : — " There is not a nation, either of Greek or Barbarian, or of any other name, even of those who wander in tribes and live in tents, amongst whom prayers and thanksgivings are not offered to the Father and Creator of the universe by the name of the crucified Jesus."* These expressions of the eloquent father may be admitted to be somewhat general and declamatory ; yet it is obvious, that his description must, in a considerable degree, have corresponded with the truth. Undoubted testimonies remain of the existence of Christianity in this century in Germany', Spain, and Gaul, as well as in Britain. It is possible that the light of the gospel might have dawned on the Transalpine Gaul before the conclusion of the apostolic age ; but the establishment of Christian churches in that part of Europe cannot be satisfactorily ascertained before the second century.f At that time Pothinus, in concert with Irenseus and others from Asia, laboured so successfully in Gaul, that churches were founded at Lyons and Vienne. Whatever churches were founded during the second and early part of the third century in Gaul, seem to have received their ministry and ecclesiastical rites from Lyons, which may justly be considered the oldest church in Gaul. * Dial. cum. Tryph. with little success. And with this opinion f Mosheim supposes, that some preachers in Tilleniont agrees. See Mosheim, Comment. the first ages might have laboured in Gaul, hut de Rebus Christianis, ante Constant, sect. 3. 44 CONVERSION OF LUCIUS. On the martyrdom of Pothinus at the age of ninety, a. d. 177, Irenaeus was elected bishop of Lyons, who is supposed to have suffered during the per- secution under Severus, a. d. 202. •■' From Gaul, Christianity appears to have passed into that part of Germany which was subject to the Romans ; and that it had taken deep root in our own island at this time, is evident from the testimonies of Tertullian and Origen already quoted. An imjiortant event, however, took place in this century, which con- tributed materially to forward the progress of the Christian faith, namely, the conversion of king Lucius, " who was content," says Bishop Godwin, " to put on the sweet yoke of our Saviour," and become a nursing father to the infant church. The reality of his existence and his profession of Chris- tianity are admitted, and indeed insisted upon, both by writers of the Roman and English church, though particular circumstances, as to the pre- cise time when, and the part of Britain where, he rided, have been much con- troverted. If we divest the historical notices respecting him of some incon- sistencies unavoidably arising from a great variety of authorities, and of some extraneous matters, which are independent of the general fact, there is nothing incredible in the relation, that Christianity should be publicly professed and protected by a British prince, who was only the third in descent from Caractacus. Nennius, in his History of the Britons, chap. iii. sect. 22, says, " After the birth of Christ one hundred and sixty-seven years, king Lucius, with all the chiefs of the British people, received baptism, in consequence of a legation sent by the Roman emperors, and Pope Evaristus." But the name of the bishop of Rome, as given in one copy found by Archbishop Ussher, is Eleutherius ; and this agrees with Bede's account of Lucius : — " In the year of our Lord's incarnation 156, [in some copies, 161],| Marcus Anto- * Palmer's Origines Liturgicae, i. 151. 156, whereas \i-^ the computation of Orosius it t The date of this event is by no means should be placed in 161. The error is manifest, clear, nor is Bede's Chronology without diffi- and may probably be accounted for by ascribing culty. The reader may consult Ussher's Prim- it to the mistake of some copyist, who wrote ord. cap. iii. and iv. for the different statements CLVI. for CLXI. It has, however, perplexed which have been made upon the subject. Also, many writers, who have assigned to the con- Fuller's Church History, book i. cent. 2, who version of Lucius, a variety of dates, though has given a list of twenty-six different dates the words of the text show that it could not between the years A. D. 99 and 190, "Though have taken place prior to the pontificate of Bede copies Orosius," says Dr. Lingard, "he Eleutherius, nor later than the death of Au- has placed the accession of Marcus Aurelius in relius." CONVERSION OF LUCIUS. 45 ninus Verus, the fourteenth from Avigustus, was made emperor, together with his brother Aurelius Commoclus. In their time, whilst Eleutherius,* a holy man, presided over the Roman church, Lucius, king of the Britons, sent a letter to him, entreating that, by his command, he might be made a Christian. He soon obtained the object of his pious request, and the Bri- tons preserved the faith which they had received, uncorrupted and entire, in peace and tranquillity, until the time of the emperor Diocletian." (Eccles. Hist, book i. ch. 4). The old book of LlandafFf gives the following account of this matter : — " That King Lucius sent Eluanus and Medivinus to Eleutherius, the twelfth bishop of Rome, to desire that he might be made a Christian through his instruction : upon which he gave God thanks, that such a heathen nation did so much desire Christianity ; and then, by the advice of the presbyters of the city of Rome, they first baptized these ambassadors ; and being well instructed, they ordained them, making Eluanus a bishop, and Medivinus a teacher ; and so they returned to king Lucius, who with the chief of the Britons was baptized ; and then, according to the instruc- tions of Eleutherius, he settled the ecclesiastical order, caused bishops to be ordained, and the Christian religion to be taught." " There is nothing in this accoimt," says Stillingfleet, " but what seems to have great probability in it." The same narrative is given in Capgrave, out of John of Tinmouth, in the Life of Dubricius. A similar account is likewise given by Baronius, (Annales Eccles. tom. ii. a. d. 183). And this seems to have been the original tradition of the British church, which Geoffrey of Monmouth, in the tweKth century, corrupted with his flamins and archflamins, deducing the descent of Lucius, of course, from Brutus and the Trojans, and con- verting the whole fabric of Druidism into the beau ideal of a church established by law ! But the matter concerning Lucius, which has been most controverted, is, whether at the request of Lucius, Eleutherius, bishop of Rome, sent certain missionaries to instruct him in the Christian faith. There is nothing improbable, as Bishop Stillingfleet confesses, in allowing that king Lucius, hearing of the Christian doctrine, either by the early British converts, such as Eluanus and Medivinus are supposed to have been, or by some of M. Aurelius's soldiers coming hither, after the great deliverance of the Roman * Eleutherius flourished between a. n. 176 and 190. t Monastic. Anglic, vol. iii. ]i. 188. 46 CONVERSION OF LUCIUS. army by the prayers of the Christians (which had then lately happened, and every where occasioned great discourse, the emperor himself, as Tertidlian says, giving the accoiint of it in his own letters), might on this account, be desirous to inform himseK thoroughly about this religion ; and there being then frequent intercourse between Rome and Britain, he might send Eluanus and Medivinus to Eleutherius to be fully instructed in the Christian faith. " The reason why he wrote to Rome," says Fidler, " was, because at this time the church therein was (he can ask no more — we grant no less) the most eminent church in the world, shining the brighter because set on the highest candlestick — the imperial city." Eleutherius received the messengers gladly, instructed them more per- fectly in the Christian faith, and sent them back, together with Faganus and Dumanus, to King Lucius, with a present of " bothe the Ould and Newe Testaments," and a letter to that monarch. The following account of this matter is taken from Sammes' Britannia Antiqua Illustrata, fol. 1676. " A. D. 181. In the beginning of the reign of Commodus Antoninus, (according to the best computations) lived Lucius, surnamed Lever-Maur, signifying Great Brightness, a supposed king of Britain, or of some part of the island,--' and the first king in Europe that received the Christian faith, and by public authority established it. It is reported of him, that being moved with many miracles, Avhich he had both heard of and seen done by the Christians (for the Christian religion was taught and professed long before in this island,) he sent to Eleutherius, then Bishop of Rome, letters by Eluamis and Meduinus, men of great wisdom and experience in di^'ine matters ; the answer to which letter I shall set down word for word, as it was found in a most ancient MS. among the authentic records and constitu- * The learned Bishop Stillingfleet conjee- and Sussex possessed scarcely any Roman turcs that Lucius was permitted to govern antiquities. Subsequent discoveries have much those parts of the country afterwards called removed that impression. See communica- Surrey and Sussex. He supports his opinion, tious to the Gentlemen's Magazine in March by observing, that wherever the Romans and September, 1841, upon the subject. I am settled, it was easy to trace them by their strongly induced to be more than ever confident public roads, their buildings, coins, urns, and in the opinions I have there expressed. The inscriptions ; but scarcely any of these anti- antiquities of these counties have never been quities are to be found in Surrey and Sussex. well investigated, although there are many vol- A kind friend, who has deeply studied our umes on the subject. I have reason to think, national antiquities, has furnished the writer that this portion of the island remained under with the following information : — " In Bishop the control of the Britons, after the Roman Stillingflect's time, it was believed that Surrey invasion, more than any other part." CONVERSION OF LITCIFS. 47 tions of the City of London, and was made use of by Bishop Jewel against Mr. Harding. The following is a translation of it : — 'In the year 169 from the passion of Christ, Lord Eleutherius, Pope, WTote tlms to Lucius, King of Britain, in answer to the petition of the king and the noljility of the kingdom of Britain : ' You earnestly desire of us, that we would send you the Roman laws and constitutions of the Emperor, that you might use the same in the kingdom of Britain. The Roman laws and the Emperor we can always reprove, but the law of God is miblameable. You have lately received (through the infinite mercy of God,) into yoiu' kingdom, not only the law, but the Christian faith also; you have at your commands both Testaments; from them, there- fore, by the assistance of God and your council, extract laws, by which, under God, you may govern your kingdom. You are God's sole vicegerent in your own kingdom, according to that of the prophet — " The earth is the Lord's, and the fulness thereof, and all the inhabi- tants that dwell therein." And again, Psalm xliv. 7 — " Thou lovest righteousness, and hatest wickedness ; therefore God, thy good God, hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows." And again, in the same prophet, " God is thy righteousness," not the righteous- ness and justice of Caesar. All Christian people, especially those of your own kingdom which live under your protection and peace, ought to l)e accounted and looked upon as your own childi-en, according to that of the gospel, " As the hen gathereth together her chickens under her wings." The people of Britain are your people, which if at any time divided, you ought with your utmost care to reduce them to concord, and endeavour their peace and unity, furthermore to cherish, maintain, defend, and govern them, and, in fine, protect them from injurious and malicious persons, and take their part against their enemies. Woe to that king- dom that hath a child to their king, and whose princes eat in a morning. I do not call him a childish king in respect of minority ; but in regard of his foolishness, wickedness, and mad- ness, according to that of the kingly prophet, " Bloody and deceitful men shall not live out half their days." By eating I mean greediness, by greediness luxury, by luxury all filthy evil, and unseemly things, according to that of king Solomon, " Wisdom shall not descend into a wicked soul, neither shall it remain in a body subject to sin." The name of governor is not derived from his government, but from well governing. You shall be a king so long as you nile well; which unless you do, the name of king shall fail, and remain no longer in you; which God forbid. God grant you so to govern the kingdom of Britain, that you may at last reign with him for ever, whose vicar you are in the aforesaid kingdom.'" This letter has been esteemed a valuable curiosity by some learned men, not only by Bishop Jewel, but by the author of De Antiquitate Bri- tannicce J^cclesics,^- who calls it " an august record;" whilst Ussher and Spel- man confess it to be a forgery of a much later date. Notwithstanding the credit it has obtained, many strong objections have been made to its authen- ticity. What necessity was there for Lucius to send to Eleutherius for a copy of the imperial laws, when he might have procured them from the * Attributed to Abp. Parker, or his Chaplain, Mr. Josceline. — Nicolsons Eng. Library, p. 126. 48 CONVERSION OF LUCIUS. Roman governor of Britain, who ruled and governed this island by them. Besides, this letter makes Lucius a monarch of the whole of Britain ; whereas he was only permitted by the Roman emperor to exercise the subordinate authority of a British king in his own dominions. Again, the texts of Scripture cited arc from St. Jerome's translation, who flourished nearly two centuries after Eleutherius. Lastly, this letter was unknown to all our historians till about a thousand years after the death of Lucius, and where it was first discovered still remains an uncertainty. Without acknowledging, then, the authenticity of this famous epistle, the embassage to Rome may be accounted for on other grounds. We may suppose that Lucius having been convinced of the truth of the Christian religion by Eluanus and Medivinus ; and likewise hearing of the flourishing state of the church at Rome, whose bishop was only the twelfth from the apostles, was perhaps desirous to have the sacrament of baptism adminis- tered to him from a known and recognized legitimate channel. And this may fairly be concluded to have been a sufficient reason, without acknow- ledging any supremacy of that see over other churches, a pretended privilege of which the British Christians at this time were perfectly ignorant. Leaving, therefore, the unauthenticated parts of the history of Lucius to their own inconsistencies and difficidties, it may be concluded, on the authority of our native records, that he publicly protected and nourished the church in Britain before the end of the second century. The Welsh Triads state, that Lleurwg was the grandson of Cyllin, and was called " Lleufer Mawr," or the Great Luminary, which probably was an epithet bestowed upon him at a later period, in consideration of his having promoted the cause of Christianity. He was a Silurian chieftain, his patrimonial territory, comprehending what now goes by the joint names of Gwent and Morganwg (Glamorganshire) ; and was permitted by the Romans to exercise the authority of a British regulus in his own dominions. If the Welsh com- putation be correct, he must have flourished about the middle of the second century, in the reign of one of the two Antonines, whose edicts in favour of the Christians would give him the opportunity of promoting the new religion. One Triad states, that he was the person " who erected the first church at I>landaff, which was the first in the isle of Britain ; and he bestowed the freedom of country and nation, with the privilege of judgment and surety, upon those who might be of the faith in Christ.* Another * Triad .3.5. Tl)ird Series. CONVERSION OF LUCIUS. 49 Triad, speaking of the three archbishoprics of the isle of the Britons, says, " The earliest was LlandafF, of the foundation of Lleurwg ab Coel ab Cyllin, who gave lands and civil privileges to such as first embraced the religion of Christ."* And the Silurian catalogues of saints further relate, that he applied to Rome for spiritual instruction, upon which four persons, named Dyfan, Ffagan, Medwy, and Elfan, were sent him by Eleutherius, bishop of that see. This is all the account the Welsh authorities give, respecting a person about whom so much has been written under the name of Lucius, or Lies ab Coel. These authorities make no mention of the epistle of Eleii- therius. There are, however local indications in the neighbourhood of LlandafF, which support the belief of the existence of Lleurwg, Dyfan, Ffagan, and Medwy ; four churches ha\'ing been named after them. That Llandaff was one of the oldest churches in this country is not improbable, from its having been selected as the seat of a bishopric, f The much disputed history of Lucius, Bishop Lloyd considered entirely fabulous ; while Bishop Stillingfieet took it for granted, " there was such a person, who was a king and a Christian." The latter asserts, that the existence of Lucius as a Christian king, " is proved from the two coins men- tioned by Archbishop Ussher, having an image of a king on them, with a cross, and the letters L. V. C. as far as they could be discerned." But Ruding in his Annals of the Coinage, has spoken only of the coins of two other British princes as genuine, while he has omitted those of Lucius altogether. One of the two coins attributed to Lucius, which is of gold, is preserved in the British Museum, and is " a decidedly false one," says Mr. C. F. Barnwell. Of the other in silver, nothing is kno^vn.;}: The traditionary accounts of this period must however be received with some caution, although many of them may contain the outlines of truth. It has been asserted, that under the reign of Lucius many Pagan temples were converted into Christian churches ; particularly that dedicated to Diana, now St. Paul's London — and another consecrated to Apollo, now West- minster Abbey. St. Peter's, Cornhill, was the seat of the first bishop, Theanus, a.d. 179, to the building of which, Ciran, one of Lucius' courtiers, is said to have largely contributed. Leland states, that Lucius built a chapel dedicated to ovir Saviour in Dover Castle : § and Radulphus de Diceto, that * Triad 62. Third Series. J Pantin's Introd. to Stillingfieet. t Rees's Welsh Saints, sect. iv. § Assert. Arthiiri, fol. 7. 50 liUClus. he built the church in the neighbourhood of Canterbury, afterwards called St. Martin's. From other accounts we learn, that he built a church and endowed a college of Christian philosophers at Bangor,* also a church dedicated to the Blessed Virgin at Glastonbury, where Faganus and Duvianus resided, a. d. 187. And lastly, a church and monastery at Winchester, which he endowed with large revenues, f As Llandaff was the principal residence of Lucius, and never became a place of note with the Romans, it appears that our first bishopric was founded with no regard to foreign regulations, and independent of foreign interference. The ancient privileges enjoyed by the Druids were now transferred to the Christians. And this Lucius was enabled to effect by the royal authority which he was permitted by the Romans to exercise in his own territory. Hence in the 35th Triad he is represented as the person " who erected the first church at Llandaff, which was the first in the isle of Britain ; and who bestowed the freedom of country and nation, with the privilege of judgment and oath, upon those who might be of the faith in Christ.]: The different immunities to which the Druids, as ministers of religion and teachers of the learned arts, had been entitled, were the following : — " Five free acres of land, exemption from personal attendance in war, permission to pass immolested from one district to another in time of war as well as peace, support and maintenance wherever they went, exemption from land-tax, and a contribution from every plough in the district in which they were the authorized teachers." § The legal trans- ference of these, then, to the Christian priesthood, constituted the main features in Lucius's regulations. Such was the establishment of religion in the territory of Llandaff, from which in after times it derived the name and dignit)^ of an archbishopric. Its extent appears to have been commensurate with the royal patrimony. As the title of archbishopric was not known until after the council of Nice, A. D. 325, it is not probable that the bishops of Llandaft' were previovisly invested with any metropolitical authority over the other prelates in the island. No office analogous thereto existed among the Silurian Druids, altliough such could be found on the continent. Moreover, Dyfan, Ffagan, and Medwy, the saints who are mentioned as having assisted Lucius in * Caius de Aiitiq. Cantab, p. 51, et Hist. J M3'f. Arch. vol. ii. p. 63. Cautab. p. 22. § See James's Patriarchal Religion of •j" Manuscript in Bibliotheca Cottoniana. Britain, p. 81. APOSTOLICAL SUCCESSION. 51 regulating the affairs of the church, are commemorated with equal veneration. There are three churches within the patrimony of Lucius bearing the name of each respectively, and still indicating the several spheres of their ministry. That the Britons paid no regard to the regular transmission of the apostolical commission at this early period, it would be absiu'd to insinuate, for such conduct would be at variance with the known practice of all the churches foimded during the primitive age. " We can reckon up," says Irenseus, " those who were ordained by the apostles to be bishops in the churches, and those who were their successors, to our o^vn time."* Tertullian likewise, who flourished in the same age with Irenaeus, speaks of it as a thing imiversally admitted, that the apostles placed bishops in all the churches which they planted ; arguing, as Irenaeus had done, that by the succession of regular and lawful bishops, the true faith was preserved every where, f From the death of Lucius to the Diocletian persecution of the Christians, a period of about eighty years, very little is known of the history of the British Church ; nevertheless, we find from our own and foreign authors, that the Christian religion still continued to flourish here diu-ing this time, and that it remained fii-m in the faith, without apostacy or corruption. But the time of trial had now arrived, and few of the Christians were perhaps aware of the storm which was gathering over their heads, on the accession of Diocletian to the throne of the Caesars. " During the ten grievous persecvitions," says Sir Henry Spelman, " God, as it were, opened the windows of heaven, and rained blood upon his church, as he did water upon the world in the days of Noah, so that no man did care or expect preferment, maintenance, or dignity, save only the cro^vn of martyrdom, which many thousands did obtain." In the next chapter we shall find that the British Church did not escape the severity of this memorable persecution. * Contra Hseres. lib. iii. c. 3. f De Praescript. c. -32. CHAPTER VI. DIOCLETIAN PERSECUTION — THE SUFFERINGS OP BRITISH CHRISTIANS — MARTYRDOM OF ST. ALBAN, JULIUS, AND AARON — CONSTANTINE's REIGN — BRITISH BISHOPS ATTEND THE COUNCILS OF ARLES, NICE, SABDICA, AND ARIMINUM. In tracing the history of the church from the time its Divine Founder established it in Jerusalem, it will be evident to every reflecting mind, that it must contain within itself some inherent, some divine principle, which must render it at all times proof against the malice of man, and secure it from aU the chances and changes of the world. In its early days we see it persecuted by the Jews on the one hand, and by the Pagans on the other. Most aptly has it been styled " The tossed ark of Christ's church." To no period of its history will this emblem more fitly apply, than to that which we are now to discuss — that of the fourth century, when the followers of a crucified Saviour, with hearts baptized with the heavenly dews of the Gospel, were in very deed called to fight manfully under Christ's banner against their combined foes. The reign of Diocletian presents us with the longest and bloodiest persecution which the Christian church had yet encountered. This tp'ant was raised from an humble station to the imperial empire in the year 284. In 286 he admitted a partner to his throne, by giving the title of Augustus to Maximianus Herculius ; and in 292 the two emperors strengthened themselves still more by giving the title of Caesar to Galerius and Constantius. In the original partition, the government of Europe and Africa was committed to Herculius, while the eastern part of the empire, including Egj^t, was retained by Diocletian. When the two Caesars were created, Galerius took the command in Ill}Tia, and Constantius in Spain and Britain, Italy and Africa still remaining subject to Herculius. The Christian inhabitants of these countries soon found the difterence of their respective governors. The storm first broke out in Nicomcdia, in Marcli 303, when an imperial edict was BIOCLETIAN PERSECUTION. ' 53 published for the demolition of the churches, the burning of their books, and for the removal of all Christians, who held any public office. Copies of the edict were immediately sent to all the provinces, and in some places they arrived in time for the heathen to have the gratification of destroying the churches on Good Friday. Soon after other edicts were issued, in which it was ordered, that all the prelates in every place should first be committed to prison, and then by every artifice be constramed to offer sacrifice to the gods. " Then indeed,"says Eusebius, " vast numbers of the prelates of the Church endured with a noble resolution the most appalling trials, and exhibited instances of illustrious conflicts for the faith. Vast numbers, however, of others, broken and reduced in spirit by timidity before the contest, voluntarily yielded at the first onset ; but of the rest, each encountered various kinds of torments. Here was one that was scourged with rods, there another tormented with the rack and excruciating scrapings, in which some at the time endured the most terrible death ; others again passed through other torments in the struggle. Here one, whilst some forced him to the imjiure and detestable sacrifices, was again dismissed as if he had sacrificed, although this was not the case. There another, though he had not in the least approached the altar, not even touched the unholy thing, yet when others said that he had sacrificed, went away bearing the calumny in silence. Here one, again, taken up when half dead, was thrown out as if he were already dead ; there another, again, lying upon the ground, was dragged a long distance by the feet, and numbered among those that had sacrificed. One, however, would cry out, and with a loud voice declare his abhorrence of the sacrifice ; another exclaimed, that he was a Christian, furnishing by confession an illustrious example of this salutary name ; another asserted, that he neither had sacrificed nor intended to sacrifice ; but these were forced to silence by numerous bands of soldiers, prepared for this purpose, by whom they were struck on the face and cheeks, and violently driven away. Thus the enemies of religion, upon the whole, deemed it a great matter even to appear to have gained some advantage. But these things did not avail them much against the saints, to give an exact account of whom no description could suffice." In one month no fewer than seventeen thousand martyrs suffered death ! In the province of Egypt alone no less than one hundred and forty-four thousand persons died by the violence of their persecutors ; and seven hundred thousand died through the fatigues of banishment, or of the public works to which they were condemned ! As folloAvers of their crucified Master, they 54 PERSECUTION OF THE BRITISH CHRISTIANS. gloried in the cross, as at once the object of their faith and the symbol of their ride of life. They practically knew what it was " to bear about in their bodies the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life of Jesus might be manifest in them." AVhat indeed was their unsubdued patience, their unshaken faith, their unclouded hope, but evidences that they had more than human aid, and were sustained by more than human consolation ! In Britain the storm must have fallen with great severity upon York, London, Verulam, and the other principal cities. AVhen Gildas, our own historian comes to this period, he first gives a general description of what the Christians sufiered in these words : — " The 'Churches were demolished throughout the whole empire, the Holy Scriptures searched for and burnt in the streets, and the priests and the people dragged to the shambles, and butchered like sheep ; insomuch that in some provinces, there were scarcely any remains of Christianity. How miserably were the Christians forced to fly from one country to another ! What slaughters ! What various kinds of torments ! '\^^lat numbers were frightened into apostacy, and how gloriously others endured the trial, and were constant to martyrdom ! In short, how savage the heathens were in their persecution, and how remarkable the Christians for their patience ! During which time, the whole Church seemed to be under execution, and charging bravely through this ill-natured and inhospitable world, marched as it were in whole bodies to heaven." And then, speaking of his own country, Britain, he continues that — " God, in His great mercy, ' willing that all men should be saved," fortified the martjTS mth extraordinary courage, and raised them to a noble degree of perseverance ; whose places of burial, were they not in the possession of a barbarous and foreign nation, might refresh the idea of their sufferings, and be a serviceable sight to our countrymen.'" Gildas alludes here to a custom, which prevailed in the early church, of Christians, visiting once a year the graves of the martyrs, there solemnly to recite their sufferings and triumphs, to praise their virtues, to bless God for their pious examples, for their holy lives and happy deaths : hence the origin of festivals in the Christian Church. He then proceeds to state — " That many British Christians were despatched with diversity of torture, and torn limb from limb in a most barbarous and cruel manner ; that those who escaped the fury of their persecutors, retired to woods and deserts, and hid themselves in caves, where they continued confessors, till God was pleased to revenge their usage upon their persecutors, and afford better times to the Chiu'ch." ST. ALBAN. 05 Among the most eminent of the martyrs at this time was St. Alb an, who is often called the protomartyr of Britain. He was born at Verulam, a Roman colony near to the town now called after him. It was during the last and the most severe of the persecutions under the Roman emperors, (about a. d. 304) that Amphibalus"^' a Christian priest, pursued on accoimt of his religion, was foxmd by Alban in the neighbourhood of Verulam in a state of destitution. Alban was a Pagan ; but he was naturally humane, and the interesting appearance, the mild manners, and exhausted state of the Christian, excited his compassion. He offered him shelter and took him to his own house. The more he saw of the refugee, the more he admired him. He gladly received his instructions in the Christian faith, and joined him in prayer and other religious exercises, and was led by degrees to renounce his idolatry. Soon after Amphibalus was traced to his retreat, and the Roman goveror ordered the soldiers to apprehend him. On their coming to the house, Alban hastUy arrayed Amphibalus in his own habit, and throwing over himself the caracalla, or hair cassock of the priest, was seized by the officers and carried before the governor. The judge was standing by the altars and offering sacrifice when Alban entered. His disguise was soon penetrated, and he was required to choose between sacrificing to the gods and the punishment intended for his fugitive friend. Alban frankly confessed himself a Christian, and was not at all daunted by the threatenings of the judge, but told him plainly, that he could not obey his orders. The governor having asked him of what family he was, St. Alban replied, " To what purpose do you inquire of my family ? If you would know my religion, I am a Christian." Then being asked his name, he answered, " My name is Alban ; and I worship the only true and living God, who created all things." The magistrate replied, " If you would enjoy the happiness of eternal life, delay not to sacrifice to the great gods." Alban answered, " The sacrifices you offer are made to devils ; neither can they help the needy, or grant the petitions of their votaries." His behaviour so enraged the governor, that he ordered him immediately to be beheaded. The place where he suffered was the hill overlooking the spot then occupied by the ancient Verulam. It was a hill adorned, or rather clothed, with all kinds of flowers, having its sides neither perpendicular, nor * Neither Gildas, Bede, uor the Saxon appellation Ussher supposes, belongs more to his Commemoration of St. Alban, state the name habit than his person. See Ussher's Primord. of this person; Geoffrey of Monmouth is the 1.51, 156, 159, and 641. Lloyd's Historical first author that calls him Amphibalus, which Account, ch, vii. sect. 4. Gent. Mag. xxix, 268. 56 ST. ALBAN S ABBEY. even craggy, but sloping down into a most beautiful plain, " Avorthy from its lovely appearance," says Bede, " to be the scene of a martyr's sufferings."* '' Thus was Alban tried, England's first martyr, whom no threats could shake : Self-offered victim, for his friend he died, And for the taith — nor shall his name forsake That Hill, whose flowery platform seems to rise By Nature decked for holiest sacrifice." — Wordsworth. To the memory of this British martyr a magnificent church was erected about the time of Constantine the Great, which was destroyed in the Saxon wars. Here, too, in after times, arose the noble Abbey of St Alban's, a Avorthy commemoration of Britain's earliest blood-stained testimony against Pagan superstition. f This venerable pile, which, it is hoped, will ere long be converted into a Cathedral, is, taking it as an entire structure, perhaps the most ancient in England, York Minster not excepted ; for the latter has imdergone various alterations and improvements at different periods of time, whereas the former retains all its pristine grandeur and magnificence ; nor has the hand of modern art attempted to trespass upon its ancient tracery. It was fovmded by Offa, king of Mercia, in 793. In the northern wing may be seen a black slab, let into the flag- stone flooring, which is the only one to be noticed in the building. Immediately over this slab, introduced into an oaken ceiling, beautifully fretted, is an old monkish painting upon a large scale, represent- ing the martyrdom of St. Alban. The saint is represented as having just undergone the operation of decollation, while the blood is flowing copiously from his neck. Within the last few years, whilst some workmen were * The miracles related by Bede and others, the stately monastery of St. Alban, and procured which are said to have taken place at St. Alban's and granted it extraordinary privileges, upon death, we have not transcribed, as the truth of which arose the town of St. Alban's, in Hert- them has been much controverted by later his- fordshire. As the saint of this church was the torians ; but there is no room to question, as Col- first martyr in England, Pope Honorius granted lier and Dr. Southey confess, that the main the abbot a superiority over all others. In the facts are historical truths. time of Henry VIII. it fell with the rest, but f The place where St. Alban suffered was the to-mismen preserved the ch)irch from ruin, called Holmhurst, in the Saxon, signifying a by a purchase of £400. The ruins of the an- woody place, near the city of Vcrulamium, or eient Verulam are even now to be seen ; and the Verulam, where Bede says there was a beautiful church is built out of them, being, as Bishop church in his time; since when, Offa, king of Gibson observes, of British bricks. — Note to Dr. the Mercians, anno 793, founded in this place Giles's Edition of Bede. MAUTYRDOM OF AMPHIBALUS, AARON, AND JULIUS. 57 repairing the roof of the long aisle, they unmasked, under a thick and hard coping of mortar, a most beautiful painted canopy, richly gilt, which had remained concealed from the eye for some centuries. In a vault behind the altar was discovered, about half a century ago, by mere accident, a stone coffin, which was found to contain the remains of Humphrey, Duke of Gloucester. The site of the Abbot's dwelling and of the domiciles of the monks is now occupied by the Abbey Grammar School. It was formerly a chapel, called Queen Mary's Chapel, but Queen Elizabeth endowed it as a public school. In the year 1257, was dug up this old inscription in St. Alban's Church : — " In this mausoleum was found the venerable corpse of St. Alban, the protomartyr of Britain :" it was in lead, and supposed to have been laid in king Offa's time. Soon after the execution of St. Alban, Amphibalus suffered martyrdom with nine of his associates in the town of Redburn, three miles from St. Alban's.* Their contemporaries in martyrdom under Diocletian were Aaron and Julius, and though their history is obscured with fables, the credit of their existence may be maintained upon the testimony of writers of great antiquity.f Gildas says, that Aaron and Julius were citizens of Carlisle ; but Bede states that they resided at Chester, whilst others make them to have been inhabitants of the Roman city of Caerleon upon Usk, Avhere according to Walter, Geoffrey of Monmouth, as well as Giraldus Cambrensis, two or three illustrious churches were dedicated to their memory. Giraldus states, that " Julius and Aaron, after suffering martyrdom, were buried in the city of Caerleon, and had each a church dedicated to him. After St. Alban and Amphibalus, they were esteemed the chief protomartyrs of Britannia Major. In ancient times there were three fine churches in this city : one dedicated to Julius the martyr graced with a choir of nuns ; another to Aaron his associate, and ennobled with an order of canons ; and the third distinguished as the metropolitan see of Wales. "':|: After ten years' suffering this persecution ceased under the reign of Constantius Chlorus, upon whose death his son, Constantine, was proclaimed emperor of Rome, an event which took place in Britain, a. d. 313. Constantine being firmly settled on the throne, took care, in the first place, of the tranquillity of these parts, where he was proclaimed emperor ; and his first * Thomas Rudbura in Major. Hist, lib. i. the Life of St. Germanus about a. d. 500; c. 5. Venantius Fortunatus, Gildas, and Bedo, f Suclras Constantius of I^yons, who wrote J Giral. Camb. Itin lib. i. p.. 5. 58 SYNOD OF ARLES. act was, to secure full liberty to the Christians. And now, we may suppose, all that Gildas and Bede state to have been accomplished took place, namely, "• That the faithful Christians, Avho, during the time of danger, had hidden themselves in woods, deserts, and secret caves, appearing in public, rebuilt the chiirches which had been levelled Avith the ground ; founded, erected, and finished the temples of the holy martyrs, and as it were displayed their conquering ensigns in all places ; celebrated festivals, and performed their sacred rites with clean hearts and lips ; and all the church's sons rejoiced as it were in the fostering bosom of a mother."* It is from this time that we may date the flourishing condition of the British Church, which before laboured under many difficulties — the great body of the people, with the Roman governors, being opposed to the Christians. The Roman emperor having now become a Christian, general councils from this period became more common and important. And as a proof that the ancient British Church was recognized as a portion of the great Christian community by all churches, we find the British bishops regularly attending their sessions, and subscribing their decrees and canons. In the year A.D. 314, three of her bishops sat as representatives of the British Church in the Synod of Aries, convened by the emperor Constantine from all the Western churches, to take cognizance of the Donatist controversy.! Sirmondus (Concilia Gallic, tom. i. p. 9.) has preserved a list of all the bishops who attended the council, the greater proportion of whom were from Gaul, and, in particular from the province of Vienne. The following- are the names of the British bishops who attended vipon that occasion. " Eborius Episcopus, de civitate Eboracensi, provincia Britannia (York). " Restitutus Episcopus, de civitate Londinensi, provincia suprascripta (London). " Adelfius Episcopus, de civitate Colonia Londinensium : — exinde Sacerdos Presbyter, Arminius Diaconus." In the last Colonia Londinensium is evidently an error, as there was no place known by that name in Britain, and the bishop of London is already mentioned. Many opinions have been started respecting this city, and where it stood. Ussher considers it to be Colchester, that being called in Antoninus, Colonia. Selden and Sir Henry Spelman take it to be Camalodunum (now * Gildas, sect 12. Bede, ch, viii. him to attend this Council at Aries, is extant t A copy of a letter of summons, sent by in the writings of Eusebius, the contemporary Constantine to an African Bishop, requesting of Constantine. Eccles. Hist, lib, x. cap. 5. CAERLEON. 59 Maldon, or Colchester), which the ignorant transcribers made Colonia Londinensium.-*' Whitaker says, it should read " Adelfius, the bishop of the Colony of Londoners," that is, of Richborough in Kent, then the colony of those soldiers of the second Augustan legion, who had been transplanted from London, f Whereas, Dr. Henry says, perhaps it should be Colonia Lindum, or Lindocolnia, the city of Lincoln. And he is followed by Dr. Lingard, who states that Col. Lond. is plainly an error of the copyist for Col. Lind. or Lincoln, which is named Lindum in the Itinerary, Lindum Colonia, in the Chorographia Anonymi Ravennatis, and Lindicolinum in Bede. See Bede ii. c. 16—18. Gale, Anton. Iter. 96, 145. Stillingfieet's opinion, however, appears the most probable, who, instead of Londinensium, proposes to read Legionensium for Caerleon upon Usk : \ Urbs Legionis being the name by which that town was known to Latin Avi'iters in the middle ages. The same place was also in the Roman division of the country the capital of Britannia Secunda, as London was of Britannia Prima, and York of Maxima Csesariensis. Welsh tradition has always reported it to have been a bishop's see from the earliest times ; and the importance of these three places enabled their diocesans in a subsequent age to assume the title of Archbishop. Caerleon means the fort or town of the Legion. By the Romans it was called Isca, Isca Colonia, and Civitas Legionis II. Augustae. In order to distinguish it from Exeter, Avhich was likewise called Isca, it was also denominated Isca Silurum. Here the Roman governor resided, and had his palace ; and here also the courts were held for Britannia Secunda, where the imperial edicts were promulgated. And it is observed by the learned Marc. Velserus, that " those cities which had the title of Augusta conferred upon them, were the capita gentiuin, the chief metropoles of the provinces." § And since, by the general rule of the church, the ecclesiastical government followed the civil, there is no reason to question, but that Caerleon was at this time one of the principal British sees. The ruins of Caerleon, even so late as in the time of Giraldus Cambrensis, attested its pristine magnificence ; and within the last century * SeMen in Eutych. 119, 116, Spelman iii. pp. 004, 912, as to "Verulam and Caerleon ; Concil. torn. i. p. 39. p. 914, &c. as to the Roman municipia, colonies, f Whitaker's Cornwall, i. 277. &c. Camden's Brit. 292, 323, 490, 572, vol. i. X Stillingfleet's Orig. Brit. cli. ii. Ussher 337; ii. 45, 480, 490; iii. 9. Richard of de Primord. cap. vii. p. 147. Brit. Eccles. Cirencester, book i. c. 7. p. 68. Antiq. 76. See Stillingfleet's Discourses of § Velser. Rer. Vindel, lib. v. the True Antiquity of London in his Works, vol . 60 SYNOD OF ARLES. Roman bricks have been discovered here, with Leg. II. Ave. clearly embossed or stamped upon them. The following remarks, confirmatory of Stillingfieet's opinion, have been furnished by a gentleman who has given considerable attention to the ancient topography of Britain : — " Caerleon, in Monmouthshire, was a city and colony of the Romans, and had the name of Secunda affixed to it. [The Romans it seems invariably gave an additional name to a city or place they dignified as a colony.] In the 12th Iter of Antoninus this city was named Isca* Leg. II. Aug., explained by Camden as Isca Legio secunda Augusta. Newport has arisen from it. Caerleon is described particularly by Giraldus. It is placed on the Julian Way (Via Julia) by Richard of Cirencester. Camden speaks of Julia Strata, but he had no knowledge of its course, although he conjectured it was so called from Julius Frontinus who conquered the Silures. We infer from Richard that this road went from Bath to St. David's (Menapia). Isca (Caerleon) was, according to the Itineraries, 32 or 33 Roman miles from Bath, and 46 from Gloucester. " If, in the original authority for this council, and the subscriptions to it, (and which I believe to be Sulpitius Severus, a wTiter of the early part of the 5th century) " Civit. Col. Leg. II. " is affixed to Adelfius's name, and it plainly otherwise appears he was from Britain, he was undoubtedly bishop of Caerleon ; and I only wonder at there having been doubts upon it. I "idll, however, explain why I think these doubts have arisen. The eccle- siastical writers who for ages successively handing this fact down were (at least the earlier part of them) ignorant of the existence of Anto- ninus' Itinerary, or they Avould have plainly discovered that Col. Leg. II. meant Caerleon : which is confirmed by Richard of Cirencester : and their want of knowledge in this respect might have led them to some erroneous interpretation or transcription of their original authority." The Canons passed at the Synod of Aries may be comprised under three heads — the observance of Easter, the discipline of the clergy, and lay communion. The Bishop of London was accompanied by Sacerdos, a Presbyter, and Arminius, a Deacon ; and brought with him on his return a copy of the canons. One decree among the rest is worthy of notice, which is, that if a deacon at the time of his ordination did intimate his intention to marry, it should be lawful for him to do it. Restitutus himself was a married man.f The Bishop of Rome was absent from this council, but * From the British Wypg, a current, course, or stream. f Godwin's Catalogue, page 135. COUNCIL OF NICE. 61 appears to have been represented by Eugenius and Cyriacus, two of his deacons ; nevertheless, as was customary, a synodical epistle was forwarded to him, not for his confirmation, but for the publication of its canons in his diocese. At this period Kebius, a son of Solomon, duke of Cornwall, was ordained bishop by St. Hilary, of Poictiers, and fixed his see in the Isle of Anglesey, on a point of land still called ^o/y-head, out of respect to his sanctity, where he died a. d. 370. About eleven years after the Synod of Aries, the great oecumenical council of Nice, in Bithynia, was convened by the emperor Constantine the Great, a.d. 325, to establish an uniformity in the observance of Easter, and for the suppression of Arianism. The doctrine of the Arians was, that our Lord Jesus Christ had been created, like all other things, by God ; that he was not truly God, but a creature liable to fall into sin ; and that there was a time when he did not exist. Three hundred and eighteen holy bishops were now assembled to terminate the disputes excited by these blasphemies ; to drive from the communion of the church the author of them ; and to declare the Christian faith in that celebrated Nicene Creed, which has ever since been received as the rule of faith by all churches. That the British bishops were present at this council is evident from the declaration of Constantine, who was desirous to have as many bishops present as coiild be convened. For this purpose, says Eusebius, he sent out a general summons for the prelates to assemble out of all provinces of the empire. This letter is preserved in Eusebius, Life of Constantine, lib. iii. and in Theodoret, Eccl. Hist. lib. i. c. 10. "We may reasonably presume," says Bishop Lloyd, " that the British Church consented to the Canons of this Coimcil, because the emperor did : nay, we have more than presump- tion for it, from the emperor himself; who, declaring that the CoTmcil's rule concerning Easter was received in the provinces, saith expressly (Euseb. Life of Constantine, lib. iii. cap. 18.) that it was received in Britain. Therefore, it is more than probable that this church received the Nicene Canons."* We find them again present at the Coimcil of Sardica (now Sophia in Bulgaria) held a. d. 347, where they concurred with the rest of the bishops in the condemnation of Arius, and in the vindication of Athanasius.f The purity of the British Churches at this time is attested by St. Hilary, Bishop * Hist. Account of Church Government, oh. iii. sect. 4. f Athanas. Apol. i. con. Arianos, 62 COUNCIL OF AKIMINXJM. of Poictiers, in an epistle from Phrygia, where he congratulates the Britons, amongst others, on their freedom from hcrcsj-. It commences " To the most beloved and most happy brethren, and brother-bishops of Germania Secunda, of Belgica Prima and Belgica Secunda, of Lugdunensis Prima and Lugdunensis Secunda, of the province of Aquitaine, of the province of Gascony, to the people of Narbonne, to the clergy of Toulouse, and to the bishops of the provinces of Britain, Hilary, a servant of Christ, eternal salvation in God and our Lord. "" ...."•! congratulate you upon having continued undefiled in the Lord, and untainted by all the contagion of detestable heresy.'' . . . . " O the unshaken stedfastness of yoiu- glorious conscience ! O house, firm on the foundation of the faithfid rock ! O the unimpaired and immoved constancy of your uncontaminated will !"* During the Arian controversy, a great many Christians looked upon the word hotnousion (that Christ " is of the same substance' Avith the Father, i. e. of the same real Godhead) in the Nicene Creed as an imnecessary term ; and that the meaning of the coimcil was sufficient, without being tied to the expression. Now, it appears that most of the bishops of Germany, Gaul, and Britain, were of this opinion ; and for this reason St. Hilary exhorts them in his work De Synodis, a. d. 358, that they might not only be orthodox in their belief, but conformable in their language, to the council of Nice.f Li the year 359, the council of Ariminum, or Rimini, in Italy, Avas convened by Constantius, the son of Constantine, to decide, like the preceding, upon the Arian controversy, to which the emperor himself was favourable. Sulpitius Severus relates, that more than four hundred bishops of the Western Church were present, and adds, " Unto all of whom the emperor had ordered provisions and apartments to be given. But that was deemed unbecoming by the Aquitans, Gauls, and Britons ; and refusing the imperial offer, they preferred to live at their oAvn expense. Three only from Britain, on account of poverty, made use of the public gift, after they had rejected the contribution offered by the others ; considering it more proper to burden the exchequer than individuals." This passage has been erroneously adduced to show the poverty of the British bishops in general, when it states that such Avas their sense of propriety, that they Avould rather * Liber, de Synodis, seu do Fide Oricntalium, St. Jerome to liave composed a book of hymns, §• 2. and another of mysteries, that is, of sacra- t Hilary died A.n. .%8, and is said by ments. — Hicron. fie Scriptor. c. 100. SPREAD OF ARIANISM. 63 defray their own costs and charges than subsist upon the emperor's bounty. The three who did partake of it, are mentioned only as an exception, as if the independent bishops were the more numerous party. Out of four hundred, which number included only those of the Western Church, a proportion of ten or vipwards may well be allowed for Britain, whose distance from Italy must have added greatly to the expense of their journey. The prelates assembled at this council were forced to submit to the doctrine of Arius through the undue influences of the emperor ; but in the year 363, Athanasius describes the churches of Britain, and other churches in the West, as adhering to the faith of the council of Nice. But this happy states of things did not long continue ; for we learn from Bede and Gildas, that the Arian heresy soon after began to sjjread in Britain. Thus Bede tells us, "that peace continued in the churches of Britain until the time of the Arian madness, which, having corrupted the whole world, infected this island also, so far removed from the rest of the globe, with the poison of its errors." This account Bede seems to have transcribed from Gildas, who says, " This holy union between Christ and his members remained until the Arian treason caused deadly dissension between brothers inhabiting the same house, and which inflicted dreadful wounds upon this country, which is ever desirous to hear something new, and remains constant long to nothing." This defection from the catholic faith appears to have commenced in the reign of Gratian (a.d. 383), who was governor of Britain, Gaul, and Spain. Now it is somewhat remarkable that this individual was an advocate of religious equality; and being of an easy temper, and too much governed by flattery, instead of nourishing the orthodox faith, he gave full liberty to nearly all the heretical sects, which accounts for the rapid diffusion of Arianism in this country. And it is further observable, that immediately after this kingdom was infected with this heresy, the Pagan Picts and Scots out of the North made a general and desperate invasion of it ; " it being just with God," says Fuller, " when his vineyard begins to bring forth wild grapes, then to let loose the wild boar, to take his full and free repast upon it." CHAPTER VII. SPREAD OP ARIANISM AND PELAGIANISM — THE MISSION OF OERMANUS AND LUPUS — HALLELUIATIO VICTORY — THE FAMILY OF BRYCHAN — THE GALLICAN, SCOT- TISH, AND BRITISH LITURGIES. It is a truth that must be confessed by every reader of ecclesiastical history, that the church of Christ has usually exhibited the greatest purity and shone with the brightest lustre in the midst of alarm and persecution. This may indeed be partly accounted for, without having recourse to the supposition of its then possessing higher virtues than at other seasons ; since such adverse circumstances necessarily call into manifest operation many latent virtues that might othermse have found little occasion to display themselves. But, admitting the truth of this position, it must still be conceded, that ease has a natural tendency to engender sloth, and tran- quillity to produce indifference. None estimate the blessings of heaven so highly as those who have been deprived of them, because they have become unworthy to enjoy them — none more deeply lament their former insensir bility. Nor are instances wanting of entire nations that have forfeited the greatest privileges that communities can enjoy, merely from being too indo- lent to preserve them. God forbid that such a fate should ever be ours ! At the beginning of the fourth century, as we have seen, the church was called to suffer a severe and long persecution under Diocletian. It would appear, however, that on emerging from the heathen persecutions, she was very soon subjected to trials of a different sort. That she should be assailed from without might be expected ; it was her appointed portion : but Satan's new device was, that there should be neither rest nor comfort for her children unihin; that humble and child-like believers should have no security against violence being done to their keenest sensibilities, against insults being offered to their most sacred and most deeply-loved objects of veneration, by those who called themselves brethren. Such were the phe- nomena of the Arian and Pelagian heresies. During ihe reign of Oonstan- PELAGIAJflSM. 65 tine, but little external violence was offered to stop the progress of the gospel ; but towards the end of the fourth century, it was distracted by the intrusion of new and strange opinions, and divided into parties by religious controversy. The seeds were already sown which were to bring forth, ere long, an abundant crop of heresy, division, and corruption. The history of the British church is involved in some obscurity fi'om the death of Constantine to the final abandonment of Britain by the Romans. All that is distinctly kno-svn of it is, that she was outwardly afflicted by the sanguinary incursions of the Picts and Scots, and inwardly harassed by the Pelagian heres)% which was unfortunately introduced into Britain by Agri- cola, a Gallic bishop, and Celestius. The rise of Pelagianism, according to Bade, was in the year 394 ; but according to Vossius and Ussher, not until 405. Pelagius, the author of this heresy, was a native of Wales ; his real name is supposed to have been Morgan (the seaborn). He travelled into Italy, Africa, and Palestine ; and it was during a residence at Rome, (a. d. 400), by associating with Rufinus, a man deeply imbued with the principles of Origen, that he began to doubt the doctrine of original sin. He main- tained that man might be righteous without the assistance of grace, which was bestowed in proportion to his virtue ; that man could arrive at a state of perfection in which he could no longer be subject to passion or to sin ; and that there is no original sin. " Adam," said he. " would have died though he had not sinned, and infants at their first birth contract no contagion from Adam's fall and death ; and are so free from original sin, that there was no necessity for any second birth, or baptism."* His principal tenets, as we find them charged upon his disciple Celestius by the church of Carthage, are as follows: — 1. That Adam had mortality in his nature, and that whether he had sinned or not, he would certainly have died. 2. That the consequences of Adam's sin were confined to his person ; and that the rest of mankind received no disadvantage from his fall. 3. That the law of Moses qualified for the kingdom of heaven, and was founded upon equal promises with the gospel. 4. That before the coming of our Saviour, some men lived without sin. 5. That new born infants are in the same condition with Adam before his fall. 6. That the death and disobedience of Adam is not the necessary cause of death to all mankind, neither does the general resurrection of the dead follow in virtue of our Saviour's resurrection. 7. That if a man will make the most of himself, he may keep the command- * August, de Haeresibus, 88. K 66 PEI.AGIANISM. ments of God without difficiilty, and preserve lilmself in a perfect state of innocency. 8. That ricli men, notwithstanding the advantage of their bap- tism, unless they parted with all their estate, all other instances of A'irtue would not avail them ; neither could they be qualified for the kingdom of heaven. 9. That the grace and assistance of God are not granted for the performance of every moral act — the liberty of the will, and a knowledge of our duty, being sufficient for this purpose. 10. That the grace of God is o-iven in proportion to our merits. 11. That none' can be called the sons of God, unless they are perfectly without sin. 12. That our victory over temptation is not gained by God's assistance, but by the liberty of the will.* Prosper, in his Chronicle, has given the following summary account of the heresy of Pelagius and his followers : — '' At this time, [a. d. 413] Pela- gius, a Briton, aided by Celestius and Julian, put forth the dogma that beareth his name against the grace of Christ, and drew many into his error, preaching that every man is led to righteovisness by his own will, and receives so much grace as he merits, because the sin of Adam affected only himself, and did not bind his posterity : consequently also, that it is possible to those that wish to be free from all sin : and that all children are born innocent as the first man was before the transgression, and therefore are not to be baptized that they may be divested of sin, but that they may be honoured by the sacrament of adoption.'' f These errors caused so much alarm and disturbance in the Christian world, that no fewer than thirty councils are said to have been held con- cerning them, between the years 412 and 430; especially a council of two hundred bishops at Carthage, a. n. 417, the decrees of which Avere generally approved by the church. This heresy was also condemned in the third oecumenical council held at Ephesus, a. d. 418. Pelagius's principal opponents were Augustine, Jerome, Fulgcntius, Hilary, and Prosper. • It was between the years 420 and 430, that the British church was * Concil. Labbo, tome 2. Pelagius is said extant. lie wrote likewise a treatise of the to have written the following works: — "A Power of Nature, and several books concerning Commentary on tlie Epistles of St. Paul, attri- Free Will, which are lost." — Collier's Eccles. butcd to St. Jerome; A Letter to Demetria, Hist, book i. For further particulars respect- and some others in the last tome of St. Jerome; ing Pelagius and Celestius sec Du Pin's Hist. A Confession of Faith to Pope Innocent. Frag- of the Church, ii. 188 — 194, 12mo. 1724. ments of a Treatise of tlie Power of Nature f Prosper! Opera. Clironicum integrum col. and Free Will, in St. Augustine; these are 740, MISSION OF GERMANUS AND LUPUS. 67 infected with this heresy ; and the orthodox clergy, being unable to stem its progress, sent to Gaul desiring assistance. Upon which it was determined in a full synod of the Galilean church, that Germanus, bishop of Auxerre, and Lupus, bishop of Troyes,* should be sent to Britain to confute the heretics. The date assigned to this event by Prosper, a contemporary writer, is a. d. 429 ; but he speaks of Germanus only. Constantius, of Lyons, the biographer of St. Germanus, who wrote while several persons were living who had been acquainted Avith that prelate, has given the fol- lowing account of this synod : — " At that time, a deputation, direct from Britain, announced to the Galilean bishops, that the Pelagian heresy was gaining an extensive hold upon the peo^^le in that country ; and that assis- tance ought to be given as soon as possible to the catholic faith. For which reason a large synod Avas convened, and with one consent the prayers of the whole assembly were directed to those bright luminaries of religion, Ger- manus and Lupus, apostolic priests, who while their bodies were on earth, had their minds fixed on heaven. And inasmuch as the necessity appeared the more urgent, so much the more readily did those devoted heroes under- take the task, hastening the despatch of the business, to v/hich they were stimulated by their faith." These holy men were prevented, for some time, from approaching the shores of Britain, by a dreadful tempest; but at length they made their destined port in fair Aveather, Avhen they found the shore croAvded Avith friends ready to welcome them. The British clergy imme- diately appointed a meeting for public disputation Avith the Pelagians, Avhich is supposed to have been held at Verulam (noAv St. Albansf ) a. d. 429. The latter, according to the narrative of the venerable Bede, came to the council in great pomp, and advocated their cause with most inflated rhe- toric ; but Germanus and Lupus, Avhen it Avas their turn to reply, so over- Avhelmed them with arguments and authorities, that they Avere completely silenced, and the Avhole assembly triumphed, in their discomfiture. The * This Lupus was brother to Vincent, of ment records found in the church at that place, Lerins, a famous Christian teacher of that where it is said, " that Germanus went into the time, whose work, " A Defence of the Cathohc pulpit, and harangued the people, in the place Faith," was afterwards of the greatest use to where is still a little chapel of his remaining." Archbishop Cranmer and Bishop Ridley at the See Camden, page 293. Ussher's Britan. £c- time of the Reformation. cles. Antiquit., cap. x. p. 176. This tradition ■}■ Matthseus Florilegus informs us, that this is also confirmed by Constantius, who tells us, conference was held at St. Alban's; which ap- "that Alban's tomb was opened at that time." pears probable, as we learn from some old parch- Constant, lib. i. cap. 2.5. 68 MISSION OF GERMANUS AND LUPUS. following is Bede's account of this memorable synod : — " An immense multitude was there assembled with their wives and children. The people stood round as spectators and judges ; but the parties present differed much in appearance ; on the one side was divine faith, on the other, human pre- sumption ; or, the one side piety, on the other, pride ; on the one side, Pelagius, on the other, Christ. The. most holy priests, Germanus and Lupus, permitted their adversaries to speak first, who long took up the time, and filled the ears with empty words. Then the venerable prelates poured forth the torrent of their apostolical and evangelical eloquence. Their dis- course was interspersed with scriptural sentences, and they supported their most weighty assertions by reading the written testimonies of famous ^vri- ters. Vanity was convinced, and perfidiousness confuted ; so, that at every objection made against them, not being able to reply, they confessed their errors. The people, who were judges, could scarce refrain from \dolence, but signified their judgment by their acclamations." About this time, as we learn from Bede and Constantius, the Pagan Saxons'^ and Picts having attacked the Britons, the latter implored the assistance of Germanus and Lupus, who immediately complied with their request, and repaired to their camp. This happened during the season of Lent, and from the manner in which the event is related, it may be gathered that the mode of consecration used upon the occasion, was no other than the performance of the religious services of this holy season ; and though it does not appear that the consecration of ground for the erection of churches was necessarily confined to that season, yet the time when a similar occur- rence took place by Cedd, bishop of the East Saxons, as described by Bede, (Eccles. Hist. iii. 25, 26, and iv. 2) is a remarkable coincidence. The fol- lowing is a close version of the words of Constantius which relate to the " Alleluiatic Victory," as it is called — " The sacred days of Lent were at hand, which the presence of the divines [Germanus and Lupus] rendered more solemn, insomuch that those instructed by their daily preaching, flocked eagerly to the grace of baptism. For the great midtitude of the army was desirous of the water of the laver 6f salvation. A church formed of interwoven branches of trees is prepared against the day of the resur- rection of our Lord, and though the expedition was encamped in the field, is fitted up like that of a city. The army, wet with baptism, advances, the * Some straggling volunteers of that nation, a few years before they were solemnly invited who came over to pillage of their own accord, hither under Horsa and Hengist. ALLELUIATIC VICTORY. 69 people are fervent in faith, and neglecting the protection of arms, they await the assistance of the Deity. In the meantime, this plan of proceeding, or state of the camp, is reported to the enemy, who, anticipating a victory over an unarmed multitude, hasten with alacrity. But their approach is dis- covered by the scouts ; and when, after concluding the solemnities of Easter, the greater part of the army, fresh from their baptism, were preparing to take up arms and give battle, Germanus offers himself as the leader of the war." Then follows an exaggerated description of the rout of the enemy, upon whose approach, Germanus assembled the British troops in a hollow dale, surrounded with hills,* with instructions that at a signal given, they should all shout Hallelujah three times, which was faithfidly obeyed. The Pagans were surprised with the suddenness and loudness of the sound, which was much multiplied by the advantage of the echo, whereby their fear brought in a false list of their enemies" number ; and rather trusting their ears than their eyes, they reckoned their foes by the increase of the noise rebounded unto them ; and then, allowing two hands for every mouth, how vast was their army ! But, besides the concavity of the valley, improv- ing the sound, " God sent a hoUowness," says Fuller, " into the hearts of the Pagans ; so that their apprehensions added to their ears, and cowardice often resounded the same shout in their breasts, till beaten with the rever- beration thereof, without striking a stroke, they confusedly ran away ; and many were drowned for speed, in the river Alen, lately the Christians' font, now the Pagan's grave. Thus a bloodless victory was gotten, without sword dra^vn, consisting of no fight, but a fright and a flight; and that Hallelujah, the song of the saints after conquest achieved (Rev. xix. 1), was here the forerunner and procurer of victory ; so good a grace it is, to be said, both before and after a battle."" The account of this miraculous vic- tory is given by Constantius, and is copied by Bade in nearly the same words. It does not appear that the Welsh MSS. take any notice of it ; and the truth of it is doubted by Dr. Whitaker in his Ancient Cathedral of Cornwall, (Appendix, No. III.) That a battle was fought at Maesgarmon, in the parish of Mold, Flintshire, under circumstances which were after- wards improved into a miracle, is not improbable ; and there are names of places in that neighbourhood, which show that the district has, for some * According to Archbishop Ussber, in Flint- mies met still retains the name of Maesparmon, sbire, near the village called Mold, or Guid Cruc or the Field of Germanus. Llanarmon church in Welsh ; the name of the field where the ar- now occupies the spot of the wattled edifice. 70 MISSION OF OERMANUS AND SEVERUS. reason or other, been tenacious of the memory of St. Germanus. Thus the prelates having defeated both the spiritual and temporal enemies of the Britains, returned to their own country. The baffled Pelagians again increasing in numbers, and their heresy becoming more widely spread than before, a fresh application was made to the victorious Germanus, in the year 447. "• News is brought out of Britain," says Constantius, " that the Pelagian perverseness is again diffused by a few preachers. The supplications of all are once more conveyed to this most blessed man, that he Avould come and preserve the cause of God, which he had formerly won. With this petition he hastily complies, being delighted with the labour, and willingly spending himself for Christ." His former colleague. Lupus, did not accompany him, although he sur\aved Germanus thirty years ; but upon this occasion he Avas attended by one of Lupus's scholars, Severus, " a man of all sanctity," as Constantius describes him, " who, being then consecrated bishop of Treves, was preaching the word of life to the inhabitants of Germania Prima." On their arrival, they Avere again met by a multitude, whom they blessed, and preached the word of God to them ; and this time, were not contented with merely silencing the Pelagians at the synod which they convened, but procured the banishment of their leaders from the island. That Germanus effected a great change in the religious condition of the Britons is not unlikely, from the respect so generally paid to his name ; and it may be observed that there are no parish churches in Wales which can be traced to a higher date than his first visit, and even those that may be so ancient are few. Parochial churches did not belong to the early ages of Christianity. According to the concurring testimony of ecclesiastical wri- ters, the clergy lived for some time in towns, in communities under their bishop, from whence they itinerated about the country, and on their return, brought with them the offerings which they had collected for the common support of the society. But about the beginning of the fifth centiu-y, the ecclesiastical system was undergoing a change, and Germanus wished to regulate the British church after the model of the Galilean. Accordingly, in the council of Vaison in Gaul, a.d. 442, a decree Avas made "that country parishes should have presbyters to preach in them, as Avell as the city churches;"* and to the influence of this circumstance, the origin of our country churches may be traced. * Bingham, book ix. ch. 8, sect. 1. THE FAMILY OF BRYCHAN. 71 During the period that Germanus was endeavouring to effect a reforma- tion in the British church, the familj- of Brychan, or Brachanus, a prince of Garthmadrin, Ireland, commenced their Christian labom-s among their breth- ren who had migrated into Wales. Brychan was as famous as Priam the Trojan for his numerous progeny, for by his three wives he is said to have had forty-nine children (probably some were his grandchildren), whom the Triads record that "he brought up in learning and the liberal arts, that they might be able to show the faith in Christ to the nation of the Cymry, where- ever they were Avithout the faith." Upon this statement an argument has beeii grounded to show that there were parts of Wales which had not yet embraced Christianity. Evident proofs remain that the Britons had not en- tirely emerged from heathenism, and that Druidical superstitions were rooted in the minds of the people until late in the following century, which the foundation of churches about this time must have tended mainly to eradi- cate ; still the allegation, that the Welsh race should have been converted by missionaries from a family whose origin was Irish, is so singvdar as to demand some inquiry into the correctness of the original assertion. The question may be determined by considering the districts in which the churches and chapels dedicated to the family of Brychan, including those of Brynach and Gastayn, are distributed. They are about fifty-five in num- ber, out of which twenty-two are in Brecknockshire, or immediately upon its borders. Those situated in Carmarthenshire and Pembrokeshire, at that time occupied by the Gwyddyl Ffichti (Irish Picts), are sixteen. Five more are in Anglesey, and three of the family settled in the Isle of Man, both occupied by the same tribe. Most of the remaining churches are situated together in Denbighshire ; and as parts of North Wales are said to have still continued in the possession of the Irish, it may be judged by analogy that this was one of the districts so retained. The conclusion presented by a consideration of these localities, is, that the people without the faith, who from their settlement in Wales have been mistaken for the nation of the Cymry, were not Welshmen but Irish. The latter race had not received the truths of the gospel, for this was the age in which St. Patrick was employed in imparting Christianity to their countrymen in Ireland, and in Wales the hostility of the native inhabitants would prevent them from obtaining that blessing ; but upon the family of Brychan they could prefer the name of a kindred origin.* * Rees' Welsh Saints, p. 157. 72 GALLICA.N AND SCOTTISH COURSES. Before Germanus took his departure, he made regulations for the stability of the British church, by establishing schools of learning, and, as is thought by some wi'iters, by the introduction of the Galilean liturgy among the Britons. It is certain that his visit was the commencement of frequent intercourse, which subsisted for some time afterwards between the British and the Galilean churches : and it was by no means milikely that the one church should adopt some of the regulations of the other. From a manuscript in the Cotton Library containing a treatise, or perhaps the fragment of a treatise, on the Origin of the Choral Service in the different churches, and which is given by Spelman (Concil. i. p. 176), both Ussher and Stillingfleet are of opinion that Germanus introduced much of the Galilean liturgy into the service of the British Church. And as a variety of opinions have been expressed respecting the meaning of this author, a translation of this curious treatise will be found in the ApjDcndix (No. III.) It must be admitted after a perusal of this singular, and very imperfect document, that such an inference cannot well be drawn from it. The anonymous writer of it appears to have been a monk in one of the monasteries of St. Columbanus on the continent ; and to have undertaken to trace the genealogy of the courses, with the view of shewing to his adversaries in Gaul, that the Scottish [Irish] course Avas of as ancient and noble parentage as their own. According to him, Trophimus, the first bishop of Aries, and Pothinus the first bishop of Lyons, taught the Roman course in Gaul. This was supplanted by another brought from the East by Irenseus ; for he says " John the Evangelist first chanted the course of the Gauls ; afterwards the blessed Polycarp, the disciple of St. John ; then afterwards Irenaeus, who was bishop of Lyons, chanted the same course in Gaul." He then proceeds to speak of the Scottish course, which he says was composed by St. Mark the Evangelist (founder of the patriarchal see of Alexandria), and " after him it was chanted by St. Gregory of Nazianzcn, whom St. Jerome affirms to be his master; and the blessed Basil, brother of the same St. Gregory ; Anthony, Paul, Macarius or John, and Malchus, according to the order of the fathers" of the desert of Thebais. Cassian, it appears, brought it to the monastery of Lcrins, noAv St. Honore, where it became known to Germanus and Lupus, who taught it to St. Patrick, after- wards appointed Archbishop in the Scottish and British provinces, and he there chanted the same course. So that the only conclusion which can with any degree of certainty be drawn from the testimony of this monk, is that PRIMITIVE LITURCxIES. 73 the Scottish, used by St. Patrick in Ireland, was not the same with the Gallic course. This writer, Mabillon remarks, seems to confound the ecclesiastical cursus, or courses, for the canonical hours, with the liturgy or office for the communion ; as he says " that all men as well as women should chant the Sanctus, or the Gloria in excelsis, or the Oratio Dominica, and Amen" which were used at the communion in the western churches. The construction of a Liturgy by the apostles, like the canon of the New Testament, was evidently a progressive work. From the moment that the Christian faith took root in any city, and the apostles were able to establish a Bishop, Priests, and Deacons, the external forms would receive enlargement, and Divine Service would become more solemn. According to Mr. Palmer, the primitive Liturgies of the Christian Church may be reduced to four, which have been used in different Churches from a period of profound antiquity. The first may be entitled. The Great Oriental Littirgy, as it seems to have prevailed in all the Christian Churches from the Euphrates to the Hellespont, and from the Hellespont to the Southern extremity of Greece. The second was. The Alexandrian Liturgy, which from time immemorial has been the Litvirgy of Egypt, Abyssinia, and the country extending along the Mediterranean Sea towards the west. The third was, The Roman Liturgy, which prevailed throughout the whole of Italy, Sicily, and the civil diocese of Africa. The fourth was The GaUican Liturgy, which was used throughout Gaul and Spain. These four great Liturgies appear to have been the parents of all the forms now extant ; and their antiquity is so very remote, that it seems difficult to place their origin at a lower period than the apostolic age. * In the absence, therefore, of all positive evidence, which the discovery of some ancient manuscript containing British rites would supply ; it seems probable, that the ancient British Church derived their liturgical services through the Galilean church from the East, especially as we find that the Roman and British churches differed from each other in the cycle for the festival of Easter, in the form of the tonsure, and in some matters connected with the celebration of the sacrament of Baptism. " I meet with a sentence alleged out of Gildas," says archbishop Ussher, " that the Britons were con- trary to the whole world, and enemies to the Roman customs, as well in their mass as in their tonsure." f That there was a difference between the Roman and the GaUican, * Origines Litiirgicne, i. 8. f Discourse of the Religion of the Irish and British, ch. iv. h 74 GALLICAN AND BRITISH LITURGIES. appears by the interrogations of Augustine, the missionaiy from Rome, to Gregory, patriarch of that see. He asks, " Whereas the faith is one and the same, why are there different customs in different churches ; and why is one custom of liturgy observed in the holy Roman Church and another in the Galilean." Gregory answers — " You know the custom of the Roman Church, in which you were bred up. But it pleases me, that if you have foimd any thing, either in the Roman or the Galilean, or any other church, which may be more acceptable to Almighty God, you carefully make choice of the same, and sedulously teach the church of the English, which as yet is new in the faith, whatsoever you can gather from the several churches.'"* We find too from the conference between St. Augustine, the missionary sent from St. Gregory, and the Bangorian clergy, that the Roman and British liturgies differed greatly. St. Augustine thus addresses the British bishops — " You act in many particulars contrary to our custom, or rather the custom of the universal church, and yet if you comply with me in these three points, viz. to keep Easter at the due time ; to administer baptism, by which we are again born to God, according to the custom of the holy Roman apostolic church, and jointly with us to preach the word of God to the English nation, we will readily tolerate all the other things you do, though contrary to our customs."] It may also be reasonably presumed, too, that Luidhard the bishop of Senlls, who accompanied Bertha from Paris on her marriage with Ethelbert, would use the Galilean rites in the church of St. Martin, at Canterbury, and that this must have attracted the attention of St. Augustine on his landing in our island. Another proof that the British liturgy differed from the Irish after the time of St. Patrick (and therefore probably from the Roman), is afforded by the very ancient catalogue of the saints of Ireland, probably written in the seventh century, and published by archbishop Ussher. This document informs us, that for some time after St. Patrick, the Irish had only one liturgy, but that then a second was introduced by the bishop David, and Gildas, and Cadoc, Britons ; and from that time different liturgies were used by the saints of Ireland. \ David, Gildas, and Cadoc lived in the sixth century ; and if we may give credit to this ancient writer, it appears that the British and Irish liturgies were different up to that period. Assiuning then, that the Irish liturgy from the time of St. Patrick was nearly the same as the Roman, we * Bcdc, Hist. Eccles. lib. i. c. 27. J Usscr Britan. Ecclcs. Antiq. c. .wiii. \\ t 11ml. 111., ii. c. 2. 473. THE SACRED SCRIPTURES. 75 are led to the conclusion, that the British differed from the Roman, which is in fact almost expressly affu-med by St. Augustine.'^* Whether the British Christians at this early period possessed in their own language any part of the sacred scriptures is not known, as no traces of such a version have yet been discovered. Ware speaks of a copy of the four Evangelists transcribed by St. Columba in the sixth century, and found in his monastery at Darmagh (Derry). But the disadvantages of the early Brtish Christians in this respect will appear much lessened, when it is remembered that the Latin language must have been known to them, from having formed part of the Roman empire, from which they had not been separated a full century before the establishment of colleges among them ; and if the system of instruction adopted in those communities was conducted in Latin, as was the case in similar institutions on the continent, it must have had a powerful tendency to preserve the knowledge of a language, in which the government of the people had been so lately administered. About the year 706, Aldhelm, the first bishop of Sherborne, translated the Psalter into Saxon : and at his earnest persuasion, Egbert or Eadfrid, bishop of Lindisfarne, or Holy Island, soon afterwards executed a Saxon version of the four Gospels. Not many years after this, the learned and venerable Bede, who died a. d. 735, translated the entire Bible into that language, f * Palmer's Origines Liturgicse, i. 178. tedwiththeofficesof the church, by a clergyman Among what are called the additional manu- of the church of England, who directed them scripts in the British Museum is " An Appa- to be deposited in that institution, but that his ratus of Materials," in forty-five volumes, name should remain unknown. These volumes being a collection of notes and observations on were deposited in the British Museum in 1791. the Liturgy, and various other subjects conuec- f Rees's Welsh Saints, p. 272. CHAPTER VIII. EARLY BRITISH COLLEGES AND MONASTERIES — ST. GERMANUS THE FIRST FOUNDER OP THEM — LIST OP WELSH BANGORS, 0^ COLLEGES OP WALES — COLLEGES ESTABLISHED BY ST. PATRICK AND HIS DISCIPLES IN IRELAND — ST. COLUMBA's AT lONA. The principality of Wales is a part of our island not less interesting to the churchman, than to the secular historian, the antiquary, or the lover of picturesque beauty. While England was struggling with enemies both open and secret, and the great empire of Rome, now Aveakened by divisions within itself, the mountain fortresses of Wales formed the shelter and the stronghold of the aboriginal faith of Britain. The era of the first institution of colleges or monasteries in Britain is by no means ascertained : nothing can be more discordant than the accounts and opinions of our historians and antiquaries on this subject — some making them coeval with the introduction of Christianity into this island. A very learned writer (Sir George Macartney, in his Defence of the Royal Line of Scotland,) surmises that some converted Druids became our first monks ; others say, there was a college or monastery at Bangor, in Flintshire, as early as the year 1 82 ; though this with greater probability is generally placed later by almost 300 years. The learned Bishop Stillingfleet and others suppose the first English monastery to have been founded at Glaston- bury by St. Patrick about the year 425 ; whilst on the other hand it has been doubted by Wharton (Anglia Sacra) whether Patrick was ever at Glaston- bury. Camden thinks that Congellus first brought the monastic life into England, about A. d. 530 ; but Bishop Tanner, Editor of the Notitia Monastica, says, "It was certainly here before that time."" These instances are sufficient to show, that the exact period is not known. Most historians, however, are agreed, that the persecutions which attended the first promulgation of the gospel forced the early Christians to retire from the world, that they might be engaged solely in the service of God. The example of some truly pious and holy men gave so much reputation to retirement, that many religious individuals continued the MONASTIC INSTITUTIONS. 77 practice after the empire became Christian. But the monastic or solitar)- life was first exhibited on a broad scale by Anthony and Paul, and the fathers of the desert of Thebais, in Egypt, at the latter end of the third and beginning of the fourth century. Next to Anthony, the chief founders of monasteries in Egypt were Ammon and Pachomius. Hilarion carried this discipline into Syria, and St. Basil into Pontus. It also spread rapidly in Persia, Asia Minor, Mesopotamia, and all the East. It was introduced at Milan by St. Ambrose, in Africa by St. Augustine, in Gaul by St. Martin. The spirit of earnest religion in those days very commonly took this form ; and in the present age it is, perhaps, difficult to appreciate justly the religious character of these sacred institutions, on account of the superstition and worldly intrigue which too frequently disgraced them during the middle ages. Associations and bodies politic within the church, however, may be very useful, so long as they are subordinate to episcopal government, to which aU things in the church should, by virtue of its apostolical constitu- tion, submit. Societies, whether monastic or secular, are of human, while episcopacy is of divine, institution. The former may be useful, but the latter is necessary; and too much care can hardly be taken, lest the human addition should break in upon the principle, and injure the working of the divine institution. " Do nothing without the bishops," was the wise precept of St. Ignatius, and it was strictly adhered to in the early ages of the church. It was not until the sixth century that privileges and immunities began to be obtained by founders of monasteries, to deprive the bishop of his governing jurisdiction over them ; and consequently this infringement of the ancient polity of the church led eventually to many abuses, and to much irregularity and discord in various dioceses. The principal reason, however, which rendered the monastic orders so powerful to propagate the doctrines of the church, was the total abnegation of self, which it was the object of their statutes to produce in every individual member of their commTinities. It was the merging the individual in the corporate character, and thereby, as well as by the principle of implicit obedience, making a more or less large body of men act as one man, so far as regards the unity and consistency of their action, but with all the power and abundance of means belonging to a multitude. This is the principle on which all military bodies are constituted, and it is equally applicable to the production of moral and physical results. 78 EARLY BKITISH COLLEGES. Notwithstanding the accusations which Gildas has laid to the charge of the Britons, and the clergy in general, it is evident that the British church held its faith inviolate for a considerable time after the departure of Germanus. This is confirmed by Bede, who tells us, that after the departure of the two blessed prelates, Germanus and Severus, the faith in these parts continued long after pure and untainted.* Hence the conjecture of Bollandusf and Henschenius appears very probable, that when St. Germanus came into Britain, and found the decay of learning to have been the occasion of the spread of Pelagianism, he appointed Dubricius and Iltutus to undertake the education of the British clergy, which it must be allowed was a wise and seasonable arrangement. Although the spurious authorities brought forward to shoAV that Germanus was the founder of Oxford and Cambridge are not worthy of a serious refutation, still it is probable that he imitated the example set him at this time by St. Ambrose and St. Martin in Italy and France, who for the instruction of Christian youths established many monasteries, or schools of learning. While the Roman empire continued to flourish, care was taken for the instrviction of the young, especially in large cities. There is extant in the Theodosian code,| an edict of Gratian, requiring all the chief cities in every part of the Roman empire, to maintain professors of the Greek and Roman languages ; so that London, York, and Caerleon, as long as the Roman power continued here, enjoyed the same advantages as the other provinces. But when the Roman forces were withdrawn, and the Britons left to maintain, if they could, a precarious and disturbed independence, St. Germanus wisely recommended and promoted the establishment of nurseries of learning for training up persons qualified for the service of the Church ; and thus to afford to religion, science, and literature a sacred retreat, in an age when a universal ignorance threatened to banish from Europe every species of learning. Many of the early monasteries of Britain had schools of learning connected with them, and others are to be considered as principally designed for places of retirement and devotion. The distui'bed and imsettled state of the Romanized Britons was calculated to lead many of the Christians at this time to withdraw themselves from the ordinary haunts of men, and devote themselves to a life of prayer and penitence, to the study of God's word, and * Eccles. Hist. book, i, ch. 21. Priev. sect. 9, note 3. t Act. Sanct. Feb. 9, Vit. St. Teliaj. Com- X C. Tlicod. l.^tit. 3, lib. xi. WELSH BANGORS. 79 the continual reception of the sacrament of Christ's body and blood, as well as to works of charity towards the sick and the afflicted. The primitive British institutions followed no uniform rule, and may in some degree have resembled the monasteries of Gaul before the adoption of the rule of St. Benedict ; but in borrowing analogies from the continent, to supply the lack of positive information, allowance must be made for the secluded situation of the Britons, and their more partial advance in civilization.* We do not read of any colleges and monasteries in Britain before the visit of St. Germanus, who, for the preservation of religion and learning, recommended their establishment. From the anonymous author of the Chronicle in Leland,f we learn, "That Germanus and Lupus having suppressed the Pelagian heresy, consecrated bishops in several parts of Britain, and among the rest, they erected a cathedral at LlandafF, and made Dubricius archbishop, who fixed his disciples in several churches : for this purpose, he made Daniel, bishop of Bangor, and disposed of Iltutus to a place, called after him Llan Utiit, or the church of Iltutus." But before Dubricius was promoted to a bishopric, his biographers speak of the number of pupils that resorted to him from all parts of the country. The colleges founded by him, or with his concurrence were those of Hentland, on the Wye, where he had upwards of a thousand pupils, Llancarfan or Llanfeithin, Caerworgorn, and Caerleon. The following valuable remarks on the word Bangor, are from the pen of Mr. Owen Pughe, as given in Dr. Giles's edition of Nennius : — " The word Bangor, in Welsh is simply an appellation for any college ; and all the Christian societies among the Britons began to assume that epithet towards the close of the fifth century ; that is, when they began to have regular jurisdiction over districts, and to have Gwnydai, or white houses, which was a term for chapter-houses : an institution introduced by Germanus and his followers. Before that period, the British Christians called their societies by the simple name of Cor, a circle, or congregation. But at the time above stated, they dignified the name by the additional epithet of Ban, high, superior or supreme, that is to say Bangor, (variously Avritten in MSS. Ban Cor, Banchor, and Bangor.) This makes the expression Magnum monasterium, (generally with respect to Nennius applied to the celebrated monastery of Bangor-Iscoed, in Flintshire) equivocal : because ' great * Rees's "Welsh Saints, p. 182. f Collect, vol. ii. p. 42. 80 AVELSII BANGORS. monastery,' is nothing but a translation of the appellation Bangor, unless an additional name had been given with it to fix its locality."" Dr. Giles then subjoins a list of some of the principal Bangors, or colleges of Wales, from a curious MS. enumerating the fathers of the British Church, to which are added a few particulars respecting them from other Welsh documents. Cor Dyvrig, or congregation of Dubricius, at Caer Llion upon Wysc (Caerleon upon Usk). Dewi, or St. David, removed this to M3'nyw, or Menevia, where Gynyr of Caer Gawch, his grandfather on his mother"s side, had left all his lands for the support of the church. According to some copies of Geoffrey of Monmouth, it contained two hundred students who studied astronomy and other sciences. Cor Tathan, or Bangor Tathan, in Caer Went, or Venta Silurum, founded by Tathan, son of Amwn Zu, under the patronage of Esner Gwent, in the beginning of the sixth century. Bangor Garmon, or the college of Germanus, at Llanveithin in Glamorgan. This was founded by St. Germanus, about a.d. 460. Cor Tewdws, in Caer Worgorn, or the congregation founded by the emperor Theodosius in Caer Worgorn. This was destroyed by the Irish in the middle of the fifth century. It was restored by St. Germanus. who placed over it St. Illtyd, or Iltutus, and is now called by the English Lantwit Major, and by the Welsh Llanilltyd Vawr, Glamorganshire. In the Regestum Landavense,* St. Iltutus, is said to have built a church, and afterwards a monastery at Lantwit under the patronage of Meirchion, a chieftain of Glamorgan. According to the Triads, it contained no less than two thousand four hundred members, one hundred being employed every hour, in order that the praise and service of God might be continued day and night without intermission : and an old manuscript, extant in the reign of Elizabeth, affirmed that the saints at the latter place had for their habitations seven halls and four himdred houses, f But as some of those Avhosc names are enumerated, are also known to have studied elsewhere, it may be inferred that it was not an unusual practice to migrate from one college to another. Gildas the historian, the bishops David and Samson, Talhaiarn the bard, and the celebrated Taliesin, are said to have been educated here. St. Cadvan and St. Padarn, Avho came over with Germanus, were members of this college, until they were appointed to the superinten- dence of similar institutions. * Apiul. Usher, cap. xiii. f Honv Britaiiiiicw, vol. ii. p. 3.'S.5. WELSH BANGOKS. 81 Bangor Catog, or College of Catog (St. Cadoc), founded by him under the direction of St. Germanus, at the present Llancarvan in Glamorgan. It is recorded of St. Cadoc that he chose a life of religion and learning rather than succeed to his father's principality. At his own expense he maintained a hundred ecclesiastics, as many paupers, and the same number of widows, besides strangers and guests. Bangor y Ty-Gunjn ar Dav, the college of the White House on Tav, or the present "WTiitland Abbey in Caermarthenshire, was founded by Paul Hen, or Paulinus, over which he placed the brothers Flewyn and Gredivel, about a.d. 480.. Flewyn and Gredivel were the sons of Ithel Hael of Armorica (Cambrian Biography, p. 123, 124, 280). This institution soon became famous as a place of religious education ; and as Paulinus was eminent for his acquaintance with the Scripture, David, Teilo, and other distinguished saints removed to Ty-gwyn to share his instructions. Bangor Padarn^ or college of Padarn. This society, consisting of one hundred and twenty members, was established by Padarn the son of Pedredin ab Emyr Llydaw, in the close of the fifth century. He came from Armorica with his cousin Cadvan ; and was fh-st at Bangor Illtyd. Bangor Padarn was at the present Llanbadarn Vawr, in Cardiganshire. Cor Beimo, or the congregation of Beuno, which he established about the close of the sixth century. It came afterwards to be called Bangor Clynog, or College of Clynog ; and is now Clynog Vawr in Arvon, Caernarvonshire . Bangor Cadvan, or College of Cadvan, also called Bangor Enlli, or College of Bardsey ; founded by Cadvan, in the close of the fifth century, imder the direction of Emyr Llydaw, and patronage of Einiou, son of Owain DanAvjTi, as sovereign of the country. This was one of the most celebrated of the Welsh seminaries. Bangor Deiniol, or the College of Deiniol, the son of Dunod ab Pabo, who founded it, a. d. 525. This is also called Bangor Vawr U9 Conwy, the great college over Conwy, and Bangor Vawr yn Arlle^wez, or the great college in Arlleqwez ; being the present Bangor in Caernarvonshire. It was raised to the dignity of a bishopric in the time of Deiniol (Daniel), who died in 554. In the time of Elood, this see became the metropolitan of North Wales. Elood died in 809. Cor Cybi, or congregation of Cybi (Kebius), at the present Caer Gybi, or Holyhead, in Anglesey. 82 BANGOKS ARAV AND BtTNOD. Cor Penmon, founded by Einion, in the beginning of the sixth century, over which he placed Seiriol, and thence also called Cor Seiriol, or congregation of Seiriol. This was in Priestholme island, near Beaumaris. Bangor Asat\ or College of Asav, afterwards called Llan-Elwy by the Welsh, and St. Asaph by the English. This was founded by Asav, under the direction of Cyndeyrn (Kentigern) in the former part of the sixth century. The cathedral church of St. Asaph stands within a large churchyard, between the rivers Elwy to the west and Clwyd to the east, in 'the Vale of Clwyd. The school of Llan-Elwy was in great repute : it consisted, according to archbishop Ussher, of 965 monks, who served God in great continence : 300, who were illiterate, were appointed to till the ground and take care of the cattle ; 300 did the necessary work of the monastery; and the remaining 365 were deputed to celebrate the divine office. These last never went out of the monastery, unless upon some lu-gent necessity, but attended continually in God's sanctuary, being divided into companies, one of which began the Divine office in the choir as another had finished it. Tanner gives the following history of its founda- tion : " Kentigern, bishop of Glasgow, being driven out of Scotland, founded an episcopal seat and monastery here about the fniddle of the sixth century, and became the first bishop. Upon his return to Scotland he made Asaph, or Hassaph, an eminently holy and good man, his successor, and from him both the church and place have since been called St. Asaph. But from the death of St. Asaph, a. d. 596, there is no account of this monastery." Bangor Dunod, or College of Dunod, son of Pabo. It was founded by Dunod and his sons Deiniol Cynwyl and Gwarthan, in the beginning of the sixth century, upon lands granted by Cyngen, king of a part of Powys, and the Vale Royal. This place was also called Bangor Maelor, the College of Maelor ; Bangor Vaws yn Maelor, the great college in Maelor ; and Bangor Iscocd, or College of Underwood ; and was situated near Malpas and Wrexham, on the banks of the Dee, in FHntshire. This college was one of the most eminent in the island. Bede, whose accuracy is universally admitted, says, that in the beginning of the seventh century the number of its monks was two thousand one hundred, who were divided into classes, of three hundred each, under their respective superintendents ; and that his readers might not be ignorant as to the manner in which. so vast a society was supported, he adds, that they all lived by the labour of their own PKIMITIVE BRITISH COLLEGES. 83 hands.* In the early part of the seventh century, Ethelfred, a Saxon king of Northumberland, made war upon the Britons, and slew nearly twelve hundred of the monks of Bangor, whilst praying for the success of their countrymen against the Saxon invaders. The destruction of this monastery soon after followed the massacre of its members, and the calamity must have caused a great diminution in the number of the ancient British saints. William of Malmesbury, who lived shortly after the Conquest, says, there remained only in his time the footsteps of so great a place, so many ruinous churches, and such heaps of rubbish, as were hardly elsewhere to be met with. Leland, too, in his Itinerary, describes the situation of Bangor-Iscoed, and says, " It is noAV ploughed grownd where the Abbey was by the space of a good Walsche mile ; and they plough up bones of the monks, and in remembrance were digged up pieces of their clothes in sepulture." The remains of this renowned monastery, it is said, were still visible after a lapse of a thousand years ; a short time before the Reformation. Little is known respecting the internal regulations of the British monastic institutions ; but it would appear that choral service formed an important part of their arrangements. There appears to have been no appointed age at which members were admitted. Besides the youth who resorted to them for instruction, old men often passed the remainder of their days in them, devoting their time to religious exercises. The abbots of these institutions are sometimes styled Bishops ; and it is not improbable that they exercised chorepiscopal authority in their respective societies ; but it is agreed that they were all of them subject to the bishop of the diocese ; and there is an instance on record of St. Dubricius interfering to correct certain abuses and jealousies which had broken out at Lawtwit Major, f Some of these establishments were not of long continuance, and seem to have declined upon the death of their first abbot ; while others, which were endowed with lands, remained for a longer time, but even these dwindled away, or were re-modelled upon the introduction of monasteries of the regular orders in the middle ages. The labours of St. Patrick and his successors in the establishment of Colleges in Ireland appear to have been attended with considerable success : and such too was their celebrity, as Bede informs us, that the youths of Britain were sent to them for education. Of these, St. Patrick and his disciples founded above a hundred ; and a hundred more are said to have been * Ecdes, Hist. lib. ii. ch. 2. f Liber Landavcnsis. 84 COLLEGES IN IRELAND. indebted for their existence to St. Columba. One of the most celebrated monasteries was at Bangor, in Down, of which St. Comgall was the first abbot, and which is reported to have contained three thousand residents. Another equally eminent one was that of St. Finian, at Clonard, near the Boyne, where St. Columba for some time studied. St. Ciaran was also the father and founder of one at Clon, upon the Shenan. " Our monasteries," says Ussher, " in ancient times were the seminaries of the ministry ; being, as it were, so many colleges of learned divines, whereunto the people usually resorted for instruction, and the church was wont continually to be supplied with able ministers." Even Giraldus Cambrensis, who was no friend to the monks, acknowledges that almost all the prelates were usually chosen out of the monasteries. No wonder the Irish love to dwell with such enthusiastic delight upon these times, when we find them sending forth such holy and devoted men as Columba, the founder of lona ; Columbanus, the founder of monasteries in France and Italy ; Coelius Sedulius, Colman, Aidan, Finan, Gallus, and others, some of whom laboured so successfully in the seventh century among the Anglo-Saxons. " Afterwards, in the beginning of the ninth century, there were no fewer than seven thousand students in the single university of Ardmagh (Armagh) notwithstanding that there were three more (Cashel, Dundaleathglass, and Lismore,) Avhich vied with this ; besides a great many private and independent colleges in other parts of the kingdom."* But the most renowned of the early British monasteries was that of St. Columba, founded at lona, or Icolm-kill, in the midst of wide waters, when he left the shores of Ireland to conquer a rude and warlike people by the power of the gospel of peace ; and to preach with his followers " such works of charity and piety as they could learn from the prophetical, evan- gelical, and apostolical writings." The ancient name of lona was I, or Hi, or Aoi, which was Latinized into Hyona, or lona. The common name of it now is I-colum-kill, the Island of Colum of the Cells. It is one of the most fertile and most romantic of the Scottish islands, separated from the west point of Ross by a narrow channel, called the Soimd of I ; and is about three miles long, and nearly a mile in breadth, f It was about the year 565, * Nicolson's Irish Hist. Library, p. ix. edit. land, Anglo-Saxon measure. — Chron. Sax, p. 1736. 21. A chart of the i.sland may be seen in t This isle is one of the smallest of the Pinkerton's Collection of the Lives of the Hebrides. It contained about five hides of Ancient Saints in Scotland. ST. columba's monastery. 85 that St. Columba left the monastery of Durrough in Ireland, and launched forth in a wicker boat Avith twelve of his companions, full of hope and zeal for the salvation of the western islands, where Druidism still lingered. He converted to the Christian faith, Bridius, king of the Picts, with part of his people. From him, or Conan, the chief of the Scots in Britain, or perhaps from both, he received the donation of the Isle of lona. That St. Colum- ba's talents were of a very superior kind, is not to be doubted : an uncommon greatness of soul is marked in all his extensive schemes for the spiritual welfare of others ; and the success of them is a proof of God's blessing upon his perseverance, zeal, and abilities. His monastery at this time was considered the chief seat of learning in all Europe ; and his dis- ciples were not only men of learning, but of ardent zeal and piety. " From this nest of Columba," says Odonellus, " these sacred doves took their flight into all quarters." Foreign writers speak of the disciples of Columba as " Ordo Apostolicus," " Ordo Divi Columbse," " Congregatio Columbina," and " Ordo pulchr^ Societatis ;" but they themselves assumed no other name than " Famuli Dei," or " Servants of God;" or in their own language Gille De, whence the English name of Culdees. These were generally formed into societies, each consisting of twelve and an abbot, after the example of Christ and his apostles ; and their foreign missions were com- monly conducted on a similar plan. Archbishop Ussher and bishop Lloyd are of opinion that a bishop constantly resided at the monastery of lona. Columba' s monastic discipline enjoined attendance at public prayers three times during the day, and as often in the night. In each office of the day they were to use prayers, and chant three psalms ; and in the oifices of the night, from October to February, they were to chant thirty-six psalms and twelve anthems at three several times : through the rest of the year, twenty-one psalms and eight anthems ; but on Saturday and Lord's day nights, twenty-five psalms and as many anthems.* Surely, we need not wonder at the success which attended the labours of the clergy, trained up under such a discipline ; prayer appears to have been the main business of their lives ; and hence they were enabled to keep under their bodies by daily mortification, self-denial, and unceasing watchfulness. Thus prepared, lona sent forth her missionaries into every land, from which ignorance and idolatry were to be banished by the workings of Christian love. To be an * Holstein. Cod. Rcgul. Cit. ap. Walker's Irish Bards. 86 ST. COLUMBA S MONASTERY. inmate of this celebrated monastery was to gain a reputation throughout the civilized world. The incidental notices preserved of some of the more eminent indivi- duals educated at lona, are not only interesting and instructive, but their frequent hours of prayer, their stern integrity and self-devotion to the service of God, may serve to rebuke us of the present day for our luke- warmness and coldness, and may lead us to question the modern plans for propagating the gospel. The account which Bede gives of Columan and other divines who left Zona to labour in England may be cited as examples of the faith and Christian heroism of this early age. We find them living in the most plain and frugal maimer, frequently supporting themselves by the labour of their hands, and solicitous only to discipline and improve the heart. Except some cattle, they had no wealth; and whenever they re- ceived any money from the rich, they immediately gave it to the poor. They instructed a certain number of youth ; St. Aidan, for instance, had the charge of twelve. Their houses were barely sufficient for their own accommodation, being resolved to cast aside every thing that would hinder them in their Christian work. "For this reason," adds Bede, "the religious habit was at that time in great veneration ; so that wheresoever any clergy- man happened to come, he was joyfully received by all persons as God's servant ; and if they happened to meet him upon the way, they ran to him, and bowing, were glad to be signed with his hand, or blessed with his mouth. And if any priest happened to come into a tillage, the inhabitants flocked together to hear from him the word of life ; for (he adds) they went into the villages on no other account than to preach, baptize, visit the sick, and, in few words, to take care of souls."* The long course of education and probation required of his disciples by Columba, must have contributed much to their usefulness, as well as to the fame which they acquired for learning. In the Life of St. Munn, one of his pupils, it is mentioned that his education took up eighteen years, in which there is no reason to think that he was singular. Many of the students employed themselves occasionally in practising the mechanical arts as well as in the study of the sciences, in order to benefit and civilize man- kind. Columba himself was well skilled in physic, and we may believe that he would not fail to teach his disciples a science that would contribute so * Bede, Eccles, Hist, book iii. 26; iv. 4. ST. colxtmba's monastery. 87 much to theii' usefulness. That they studied tlie laws, customs, and his- tories of nations is evident, for above one hundred persons left lona to attend the council of Drimkeat, to vindicate the title of Aidan (or Aodhan Mac Ghabhrain) to the Dalriadic province of Ulster. And that they studied the classics, appears from the writings of Cumin and Adomnam ; the latter wrote a geography of the Holy Land. Of the monasteries founded by St. Columba in Scotland no particular account can be given, as the records of them have not been preserved. Jocelin, Hanmer, and Ussher state, that he founded one hundred in Scot- land and Ireland ; whilst Odonellus (iii. 42) says, that of monasteries and churches together he founded three hiuidred. A list of some of the prin- cipal monasteries founded by him in Ireland ; the names of the first abbots, and other matters relating to them, may be found in Colgan (in his Trias Thaumaturga, Vita S. Columbse), and the authors cited by him. The inhabitants of lona entertain a belief that the desolated shrine of St. Columba shall yet be restored to its primitive glory and sanctity ; and in support of the notion, quote no less credible authority than that of St. Columba himself, expressed in the following lines ; " In lona of my heart, lona of my love. Instead of the voice of monks there shall be lowing of cattle, But ere the world shall come to an end, lona shall be as it was." Implying, says Paterson, author of the Legend of lona, that the island, after ages of ruin and neglect, shall again be the retreat of piety and learning. This sentiment appears to have struck Dr. Johnson (Journey to the Western Isles) without any knowledge of Columba's prophecy : " Perhaps in the revolutions of the world, lona may be sometime again the instructress of the western regions." CHAPTER IX. CHURCH OF IRELAND — PALLADI0S — ST. PATRICK THE APOSTLE OF THE IRISH — HIS LETTER TO COROTICUS — LABOURS OF THE IRISH CLERGY IN FOREIGN COUNTRIES — FOUNDATION OF THE BISHOPRIC OF THE ISLE OF MAN — INTRODUC- TION OP CHRISTIANITY INTO SCOTLAND — ST. NINIAN — THE CULDEES. Among other lamentable effects of leaving the study of our ecclesiastical history uncultivated is the present unhappy condition of the Church of Ireland. Persecuted as she is, by the infidelity and avarice of her apostate children, and struggling to maintain her groimd against her poAverfvil opponents, it is sad to think that, when most she needs succour, there are few among her members who can uphold her lawful and original rights, or who look upon her in any other light than as a Protestant Church planted on her shores at the Reformation. To every intelligent reader it need not be said, how opposed such a supposition must be to all authentic history, and how fatal to the interests of the Irish Church. We are indebted to Archbishop Ussher for the best account that has come down to us of the " Religion professed by the ancient Irish."' In this work he calls our attention to the remark of St. Chrysostom, who said, " Although thou wert to go to the ocean, and to the remote British Isles — although thou wert to sail to the Euxine Sea, or to the farther regions of the south — yet shouldest thou hear all men reasoning on the Scriptures ; in differ- ent languages indeed, but with one belief — in a variety of dialects, but with the same judgment." Bede also boasted, that, in his own days, the in- habitants of Britain in five several tongues did search into the elements of eternal truth, and the most exalted philosophy, confessing the same faith though with a diversified utterance. The languages here mentioned belonged to the Angles, the Britons, the Scots, the Picts, and the Latins. " For as by us now, so by our forefathers then," says Ussher, "the continual meditation of the Scriptures was held to give special vigour and vegetation to the soul ; and the holy sentiments delivered therein were esteemed by Christians as their chief riches. " IHE PRIMITIVE CHXTKCH OF IRELAND. 89 From the Irish Annals, about a. d. 402, it further appears, that several Christian churches had been founded in the south of Ireland, by Kieran, Ailbe, Declan, and Ibar, viz. at Ardmore, Lismore, and Emly, in Munster; and at Ossory and Beg-Erin, in Leinster ; but that great part of the south, and the whole of the north and west provinces, were stiU pagan at that period. The same authorities state, that Kieran, Ailbe, Declan, and Ibar, after studying for some time at Rome, were consecrated to the episcopal office by the bishop of that see. * That there were some few christians here even before this time, we learn from the lives of Declan and Ailbe, as quoted by Ussher. For it is there said, that Declan was baptized by one Colman a priest, and Ailbe by a priest, probably the same ; and that Declan, when he was seven years old, was put under the tuition of Dyman, a christian, to learn to read. And as there seems to be no authentic account of the original source from whence Christianity had come to Ireland, the mere geographical position of that country in relation to its sister island, would lead to the conclusion that the former must have originally received the gospel from the latter. The fact of two such learned men as Pelagius and Celestius — the former a Briton, and the latter an Irishman — at this time being associated together to disturb the peace of the church by disseminating their peculiar errors, is a proof of an early and close connexion having subsisted between the two churches, as well as of the cultivation which Ireland had even then attained. In the year 431, Palladius, as we learn from Prosper of Aquitain, was consecrated Bishop to the converted Scots in Ireland. In his "■ Chronicle" he tells us that — "• By Pope Celestine is Palladius ordained and sent the first bishop to the Scots believing in Christ."f Again, he says that Celestine bestowed " a care any thing but sluggish, as he freed Britain from the disease of Pelagianism, when he drove out from that secret nook of the ocean, certain enemies of grace occupying the land of their birth, and, by having ordained a bishop for the Scots, whilst he studied to keep the Roman island (Britain) Catholic, he also brought a barbarian one (Ireland) to become * Ussher, Britan. Eccles. Antiq. p. .512 ; modern Scotland was not known so early as the O'Connor, Rerum Hibern. Script, t. ii. in fifth century by any name difFerent from that Annal. p. 12. Lloyd's Historical Account of applied to the southern parts of the whole island ; Church Government, pp. 51, 85. but was usually included under the names f Prosperi Aquit. Chron. ad annum 434. Britannia, Insula Albionmn, &c., and the nor- From the third to the tenth century it was the them portions of the country Terra Pictorum. usual custom for writers on Ireland and Irish About A. d. 500, a colony of the Irish first affairs to use the terms Scotia and Scoti. The brought the name of Scots into that country. 90 ST. TALLADIUS AND ST. PATRICK. Christian."'* And in another passage in his " Chronicle" he informs us that " Agricola the Pelagian, son of the Pelagian bishop Severianus, corrupted, by an insinuation of his opinion, the churches of Britain ; but, at the instance of Palladius the deacon. Pope Celestine sends, in his own stead, Germanus bishop of Auxcrrc, and the heretics being overthrown, he directs the Britons to the Catholic faith."! Palladius is said to have founded three churches built of oak, in which he left as prelates, according to Joceline (cap. xxv.) " his disciples Augustine, Benedict, Sylvester, and Solomus, with the parchments and the relics of the saints which he had collected." But his mission did not prove to be very successful. He appears to have been persecuted by the chieftain of the territory where he resided, which led to his removal to the town of Fordun, in the district of Mearns, Scotland, where he died soon after.]: But it was allotted to St. Patrick to carry on with greater success the holy work begun by his predecessors. In his time a great change took place in the ecclesi- astical state of Ireland. Religion spread into all parts ; many bishoprics were founded, and the Church arose from a state of infancy, and assumed that regvilar and apostolical form which it has continued ever since. The three score lives and ten which are said to have been written of this eminent prelate contain much that sober piety cannot receive as authentic history. But while we are not called upon to receive with implicit faith all the amplification and details of his enthusiastic panegyrists, yet it is reasonable to suppose that where the voice of tradition has been strong, unvarying, and continued, it contains at least the outlines of truth. In the bioo-raphy of St. Patrick, we see, as it were at a glance, the whole earthly transit of a most holy and devoted servant of Christ, Avith a mind chastened with deep religious feeling, and sustained with an habitual devotion, and an absolute dedication of himself to the service of his heavenly Master. St. Patrick was born in the year 372, and from those two short writings "The Confession"^ and "The Letter to Coroticus," deemed by the ablest * Prosper contra Collator, c. 41. Platina, in his Lives of the Popes, takes no t Prosper. Chron. torn. i. Rer. Gal. Fol. notice of these missions. Paris, 1738, p. 630, Anno 429. So far from J Ussher. Brit. Eccl. Antiq. cap. xvi. Celestine having any thing to do with either of § In the Appendix [No. IV.] will be found St. Germanus' missions to Britain, we have the a translation of this curious document. It ex- strongest grounds for supposing (as Bishop presses the most sincere and profound humility, Stillingfleet, Orig. Brit. chap. iv. has shown from and extols the mercy and loving-kindness of God Bede's narrative and other writers) that he was towards him through life, and shews that he altogether unconnected with the matter. And constantly lived in expectation of martyrdom. CONSECRATION OF ST. PATllICK. 91 critics to be the genuine productions of the apostle of Ireland, we gather that he was born in North Britain, which he looked upon as his home, and the dwelling place of his kindi-ed. He was the son of Calpurnius a deacon, the grandson of Potitus a priest, and his uncle was St. Martin, bishop of Tours. "WHien he was sixteen years of age, he was taken captive by some Irish pirates, and brought to Ireland. There he con- tinued six years, discharging the most servile offices ; but at length effec- ting his escape, he returned to his native country, having, during his captivity, made himself well acquainted with the language and manners of the people of Ireland. From this period he is said to have had an intense desire to be employed as a missionary in Ireland. To prepare himself for this purpose, he. passed into France, and spent some time under the tuition of his uncle St. Martin of Tours, who ordained him Deacon ; and was subsequently made a Priest by St. Germanus of Auxerre. Having spent several years in Italy, and in some of the most celebrated monasteries of Gaul, his former desire for the spiritual instruction of the Irish seems to have revived with increasing ardour. He afterwards visited Rome, where he remained, according to Nennius, between seven and eight years, " reading and searching into the mysteries of God, and studying the books of the Holy Scriptures." It has been commonly supposed that St. Patrick was admitted to the episcopate by Celestine, bishop of Rome : and this opinion has been followed, on the authority of Ussher, by many learned writers to the present time. The archbishop's view is certainly supported by the tradition of the country ; but this tradition very probably had its origin in some confused connexion between the mission of St. Patrick and his consecration. In his mission to Ireland, he was no doubt supported by the avithority and sanction of Celestine, but it does not follow that he was therefore consecrated by him. The only very ancient Irish authority which asserts the Roman consecration of St. Patrick is found in the Life of the Saint in the Book of Lismore, * where we read — " Afterwards Patrick went to Rome, where he received the order of bishop from the successor of Peter, i. e. from Selestinus fsicj, the forty-fifth from Peter." From this source probably Jocelin, Marianus Scotus, Sigebert, and other writers of the middle ages derived the statement. * The Book of Lismore is a MS. of the evidently, from its language, of much higher fifteenth century hi the possession of the Duke antiquity. A copy of this MS. is in the library of Devonshire ; but the Life here referred to is of the Roj-. Irish Academy. — Rev. W. G. ToflrJ 92 THE LABOURS OF ST. PATRICK. Another opinion, however, maintains that St. Patrick was ordained bishoj} by Amandus, or Amathaius, archbishop of Bourdeaux. This statement is supported by the testimony of four ancient Latin lives of St. Patrick, published by Colgan, in his Trias Thaumaturga, as well as by that of the learned Roman Catholic historian of the Irish Church, Dr. Lanigan.'*'' " There are difficulties, hoAvever, in the way of receiving this h}^othesis ;" remarks a recent writer, " and we are therefore compelled to conclude, that nothing certain can be said about St. Patrick's ordination, except that he appears to have been consecrated by some Galilean prelate."! Auxilius and Isserninus, canons of the Lateran church, were consecrated bishops at the same time with St. Patrick, and others, who were appointed to assist them, were admitted to inferior degrees. From Gaul, he first came to Britain, where he is said to have preached the gospel in Cornwall, and to have penetrated into Wales. St. Patrick, from his arduous and untiring labours, succeeded in com- pletely organizing the ecclesiastical polity of the church of Ireland. He elected and consecrated bishops, held provincial Synods, and fixed the metro- politan see at Armagh, which seems to have been at that time a sort of capital, at least of the northern part of Ireland. He held several provincial sjTiods to settle the discipline of the church : the first convened by him and his fellow bishops at Armagh appears to have been held in the year 456. The Canons promulgated at this synod are thirty-four in number, and will be foimd in the Appendix [No. V.] St. Patrick travelled over the whole island, penetratmg into the most remote corners, without fearing any dangers. He took nothing from the many thousands he baptized ; on the contrary he gave freely of his own, both to Pagans and Christians ; often made presents to kings, whenever it would serve the progress of the gospel, and educated many children for the service of the altar. About the year 450 a prince of the name of Coroticus, Avho seems to have reigned in some part of Wales after the abdication of the Romans, landed with a party of armed followers on the Mimster coast, where St. Patrick had just been baptizing and confirming a vast number of converts. This prince, although professing to be a Christian, was not the less, as appears from his conduct, a pirate and a persecutor. Having murdered several * Lanigan, vol. i. p. 191. See also Bishop f The Church of St. Patrick, by the Rev. W. Lloyd's Church Government of Great Britain G. Todd. See also a Letter to Lord John iiiid Ircliuul, page 01, edit. Hi84. Manners, by Daniel Rock, D. D. THE LABOURS OF ST. PATRICK. 93 persons, he carried off a considerable mimber of captives, and then sold them as slaves to the Picts and Scots, who were engaged at that time in their last joint excursion into Britain. A letter despatched by the saint to the marauders, requesting them to restore the baptized captives, and part of the booty, having been treated with contumely, he found himself vmder the necessity of forthwith issuing the solemn epistle which has come down to us, in which, denouncing Coroticus and his followers as robbers and marauders, he in his capacity of " Bishop established in Ireland," declares them to be excommunicated. After presiding for many years over the infant church of Ireland, founding monasteries and schools, and labouring for the moral and spiritual good of the people, St. Patrick departed this life on the 17th of March, a. d. 493, and was buried at Down in Ulster. The labours of St. Patrick and his immediate successors were attended with considerable success. They found a great nation of Pagans ; but before a century had elapsed, multitudes had been received into the bosom of the church. Nor is it less remarkable, that Ireland before the close of the sixth century should boast of names, which, whether for piety or learning, had no superiors in the most cultivated regions of the Continent. The infant church was every where amply endowed, and the prayers and labours of holy men were repaid by liberal donations. Fame magnified his labours, for Nennius, narrates that at the beginning St. Patrick founded three hundred and sixty-five churches, and ordained three hundred and sixty-five bishops, besides three thousand presbyters. The first Christian missionaries in Ireland seem to have carefully avoided all unnecessary violence to the ancient habits of the aborigines. Their poets and priests they favoured and protected ; the remains of the Druidical order were not persecuted; and although they severely condemned the worshippers of the sun, stars, and winds, it is evident that some Pagan superstitions Avere overlooked with too great indulgence — for they subsist at this day in Ireland. Some of the oldest remains of Irish literature inform us, that the people were taught to dedicate the first-born of all cattle to the church, as a matter of indispensable obligation. But if the clergy thus acquired riches, they applied them to the noblest purposes. Schools were established by the apostle of the country : by his disciples they were multiplied and enlarged, until their celebrity was difi"used throughout Europe, and, as we learn from the venerable Bede, the youths of Britain were sent to them for education. Of these, St. Patrick and hi.« 94 ZEAL OF THE IRISH CLERGY. disciples founded above a hundred ; and a hundred more are said to have been indebted for their existence to St. Columba. The college of Bangor, in the county of Down, founded by St. Comgall, A. d. 550, is said to have had three thousand students at one time. Amongst the foremost in sanctity, zeal, and learning is the great St. Columbanus. He left his country early in life, and travelled into France, where he spent twenty years in the dark and silent forests of the Vosges, as superior of the monastery of Luxeuil, which he himself founded. Theodoric, king of Burgundy, having been reprehended by him, became his enemy, when he was forced to quit his retirement, and after many wanderings settled down at Bobio, in Italy, where he erected another monastery, and spent within its walls the remainder of his life. Missionaries from the Irish church were also sent to the Continent to propagate the Gospel, where they erected and established schools of learning, and taught the use of letters to the Saxons and Normans. Burgundy, Germany, and other countries, received their instructions ; and Europe with gratitude confessed the superior knowledge, the piety, the zeal, the purity of the Island of Saints. Such are the events, on which Irish writers dwell with an enthusiastic delight. Besides St. Columbanus, and St. Columba of lona, Ireland sent forth St. Clement and his companions into Germany, St. Buan into Iceland, St. Kilian into Franconia, St. Suiwan into the Orcades, St. Bendan into the Fortunate Islands, St. Aidan and St. Cuthbert into Northumberland, St. Finian into Mercia, St. Albuln into Lorraine, St. Gallus into Switzerland, St. Virgilius into Carinthia, and St. Cataldus mto Tarentum. "Let it be remembered" remarks a recent writer "that there was a time when Ireland was the sanctuary of Christian truth, the school of Europe, the nurse and mother of the holiest men, and the enlightener of an age of darkness. Upon this period a cloud has hitherto rested, enveloping it in the profoimdest obscurity. Its most heroic and saintly names have been dealt with as the shadows of a myth. The memory of it has been preserved in our own days only by a few faint allusions to it in authors of more than ordinary research. No traveller visits Ireland with the thought that he is treading ground hallowed and ennobled as one of the brightest sanctuaries of the Church. He looks upon its border castles and ruined abbeys, numerous as they are, contemptuously, as compared with the grander monuments of England, and painfully, as associated only with records of turbulence and crime. A Danish rath or a Druidical stone may catch hi? ISLE OF MAN. 95 attention for a moment; a slight question may cross his mind as to the reality of a St. Patrick, or the school of St. Columba ; but to look for any trace of their footsteps, or any light upon their history, would seem a delusion like a struggle to exhume the relics of a preadamite nation."* The traditionary records of the Isle of Man inform us, that St. Patrick landed on this island in his second voyage to Ireland, and after some stay there, with the assistance of Germanus, succeeded in founding its episcopal see. This Germanus was canon of the Lateran, a prudent and holy man, and one of the first assistants of St. Patrick in the conversion of Ireland. By his wisdom and conduct he firmly established the Christian religion in Man, and was appointed its first bishop, but did not long survive ; the cathedral in Peel Castle is dedicated to him. To supply his loss, St. Patrick sent over two bishops in succession, Conindricus and Romulus ; after whose death St. Machatus, or Maughold, occupied the see from a.d. 498 to 518. So that the bishopric of Man may be considered one of the oldest in the British dominions, having existed as a separate see for 1,400 years; it claims, therefore, all the reverence due to great antiquity, and an uninterrupted course of separate and independent jurisdiction. It has maintained this jurisdiction through a great variety of changing circumstances in the govern- ment and possession of the island. The bishop, moreover, is chosen by a difl"erent process from that which prevails in respect to other dioceses subject to the British crown ; for whilst the bishops of other sees are appointed by virtue of a conge d'elire issued to the chapter, there is no such chapter in the Isle of Man, and the bishop is nominated directly by the crown. f Scotland. — Nothing certain is known respecting the introduction and progress of the Christian faith into the country now called Scotland, till the early part of the fifth century. It was about A. d. 420, that Ninias, or Ninian, who, according to the most probable account, was a native of North * Quarterly Keview, vol. Ixxvi. page 36.5. many human institutions into articles of faith , ■j" Bishops derive their order and spiritual and the pre-eminence assigned to the " Chair of functions from the apostles. But the arrange- St. Peter," unconnected as it was with any- ments relating to the places where they are fixed, thing except the temporal government of the and to the endowments of their sees, form a empire, became the origin and source of the vast part of the civil government of the church ; and dominion which the Popes afterwards assumed as they are not essentially connected with her over the other churches of Christendom. — Sir doctrines, they may be altered by competent Francis Palgrave. authority. The Church of Rome perverted 96 CHURCH IN SCOTLAND. Wales, where the British church was then flourishing, devoted himself to the perilous work of carrying the faith of Christ among the southern Picts, who were at that time established in the possession of the northern part of England, the Rom.an legions having been called home to the defence of Italy. •'•' He also penetrated into Scotland, where he founded a bishoprick at AVhitherne, in Galloway. His faith was rewarded by the conversion of these heathen tribes, who had resisted all the efforts of the Roman arms. St. Ninian maintained the Catholic belief when the teaching of Pela- gius his countryman, and probably his contemporary, was making great advances : he wrote a comment on the Psalms, and he visited and corres- ponded "with St. Martin, and, as we learn from Bede, dedicated his stately church at Whitherne, or Candida Casa, to his memory, " which church was built of free-stone, then unusual among the Britons." Almost two centuries had elapsed after the first preaching to the southern Picts, according to Bede, before the rude and barbarous inhabi- tants of the mountainous districts of Scotland had the gospel preached to them by St. Kentigern and St. Columba, and the presbyters who accom- panied the latter from Ireland. " Columba" (says Bede, lib. iii. ch. 4), came into Britain in the ninth year of the reign of Bredius, who was the son of Meilochon, and the powerful king of the Pictish nation, whom he converted to the faith of Christ by his preaching and example, whereupon he received the island of lona for a monastery." There prevails among all prcsbyterian writers, the singular but very groundless fancy, that the church polity of Columba and his associates, was anti-episcopal, and that the highest order of clergymen was either not re- cognised among the Irish and Scots, or deprived of the authority which usually attaches to their function. The celebrated Culdees of lona are acknowledged by every author, competent to form an opinion on the sub- ject, to have been monks of Hibernian extraction ; and hence it may be plausibly inferred, that whatever were their notions on ecclesiastical polity, similar opinions must have prevailed in the land whence they migrated. Every reader is aware that Blondell, Selden, Baxter, and other nonconfor- mists imagined that they could discover in the scheme of administration said to have been adopted by the abbot of lona, a warrant for the system of ecclesiastical rule, to which they were themselves attached, and which was the occasion of a keen controversy on church government at the close of * Bede's Eccles. Hist. lib. iii. ch. 4. Lloyd's Hist. Account of Church Government, c. iv. p. 82. THE CTJLDEES. 97 the seventeenth century. Sir James Dah-ymple, in his Historical Collec- tions, has dilated on this topic at great length ; proving, to his own satis- faction at least, that episcopacy was hardly ever known in Scotland ; that it Avas always reluctantly received and almost constantly opposed ; and, more- over, that the corruptions of the Romish church had scarcely begim to pollute the land, when the vigilance of the reformers was excited, and their zeal employed to purify their borders, and to sanctify the lines of their inheritance.* On the other hand, Ussher, Stillingfleet, and Lloyd, endea- voured, in their several works, to expose the futility of conclusions founded neither on established facts nor authentic records, but on the fictions of authors, the earliest of whom did not exist till more than a thousand years after the period to which the most important part of his narrative refers. The Culdees were, as far as antiquaries can discover, among the first order of monks that settled in the British isles ; and wherever the Celtic language was used, the name of Culdee was given to every one, who, relinquishing the temporal pursuits of life, joined the holy brotherhood for the purposes of fasting, meditation, and prayer. The monastery of lona had for its governor a Presbyter-Abbot, to whose authority, by an unwonted constitution, the whole province, and also the bishops themselves, were bound to be subject; but as Ussher justly observes, this superiority was only of ciial jurisdiction, not of order. It is mentioned by Bede,f that when Oswald, king of Northumberland, sent to lona for a bishop to instruct his people, the council of seniors or presbyters elected Aidan, one of their nimiber, who was esteemed worthy of the episcopate, and having ordained him, sent him forth to preach. From this statement, and without any reference to the practice of other monasteries at the same period, the presbyterian writers derive the opinion, that Aidan, the first bishop of * The Preface to the original edition of consistently one would think, they were in the Keith's Catalogue of Scottish Bishops contains practice of ordaining bishops and of exercising an able reply to Sir James's Treatise, written a rigid authority over the whole episcopal order, by Mr. Goodall ; and this reply has been pro- at home and abroad ! In the new edition of nounced by Pinkerton, no mean authority in Keith's Catalogue published in 1824, the pre- such matters, as the best account that has been sent bishop of Glasgow (Dr. Russel) entered given of the Culdees. About thirty-two years the lists with Dr. Jamieson, and availing h'm- ago, Dr. Jamieson revived this controversy in self of the powerful weapons supplied by bishop his work on the " Culdees of lona;" under- Lloj-d, Gillan, and Goodall, has, it is hoped, taking, of course, to show that they were not finally settled the controversy, only decided presbyterians. but that, not verj' f Eccles. Hist. lib. iii. cap. 3. 98 THE CULDEES. Northumbria,* under the Saxon djiiasty, must have received presbytcrial ordination. Wc find, however, that it was customary in other parts of the Christian world, at the very period too when the Columban establishment was in its greatest prosperity, to have bishops actually in monasteries, or specially attached to them, for the avowed purpose of performing those official duties to which clergymen of a lower order Avere not held competent, and in particular the duty of ordaining young men, when duly qualified, to the service of the holy ministry. Upon this ground a sufficient explanation may be given to the occurrence recorded by Bede, that there must have been a bishop attached to the Columban monastery, who in certain respects Avas subordinate to the abbot, and who was employed to consecrate or ordain the bishops who were sent into the dominions of Oswald. This is the view which Ussher, Stillingfieet, Lloyd, and other ^a-iters on the same side, have adopted. " Our adversaries would have it,*' says bishop Lloyd, " that the abbot and his senior monks did ordain those who were sent out of their monastery, and that not only into the lower orders, but into the order of bishops, as they show us in the example of Aidan and his successors. But this is so far from being true, that I dare challenge our adversaries to show any instance when the abbot and monks, without a bishop among them, ordained so much as one single presbyter. I shall show, on the con- trary, by many instances, that as it was necessary to have orders conferred in the monasteries (without which there could be no administration of sacra- ments), so bishops were held necessary on this very account, that they might confer orders on those that were judged fit to be ordained in the monasteries." In all the greater monasteries of France and Spain, there Avas a resi- dent bishop to be found, who was elected by the abbot and monks, and consecrated by the comprovincial prelates, for the very purpose of doing * As Northumbria was principally converted a kind of presbyterian ministers, who rejected by the Scottish missionaries, the clergy were the authority of bishops, and differed in reli- there known by the Scottish name of Culdees, gious principles from the monks. Goodall has -fCoUdel or Kekdci, from Keile semis, and Dia demonstrated from original records that they Dens, Goodall, Introd. ad Hist. Scot. p. 68. were the clergy of the cathedral churches who But why not from the Latin Cnltores Dei?) chose the bishop, and whose disputes with the In the cathedral church of York, they retained monks regarded contested property, not reli- this appellation as late as the eleventh century, gious opinions. See Preface to Keith's Cata- (Monast. Ang. ii. 368.) This circumstance loguc of Bishops, p. viii. — Dr. Lingard. Hist- alone is sufficient to refute the strange notion and Antiq. of the Anglo-Saxon Clmrch, i. 154. of some Scottish writers, that the Culdees were Edit. 184.'). THE CULDEES. 99 episcopal offices when necessary. Of this kind, says bishop Lloyd, we have examples at St. IVIartin's, near Tours, and in the monastery of St. Denis, near Paris, which had such bishops in them from ancient times ; and we have an account of their successions for some ages. The like, remarks Ussher, we have of the bishops that were in St. Columba's monastery at lona, of whom there is mention in the Ulster Annals. That St. Columba himself acknowledged the superiority of the episcopal order is evident from a circumstance noticed in his Life by his successor Adomnan. He tells us, " that there came to Columba in Hy, one that demeaned himself as humbly as he could that none might know that he was a bishop. But yet that could not be concealed from the holy man, Columba. For one Lord's day the holy man having ordered him at the Eucharist to consecrate with him, accord- ing to the custom, he called to the holy man that they might break the Lord's bread together, as two priests used to do in their way of consecra- tion. The holy man therefore coming to the altar ; on the sudden, Columba looked him in the face, and said to him, ' Christ bless thee, my brother, thou being a bishop break this bread alone, as a bishojj uses to do. Now we know that thou art a bishop. Why hast thou hitherto endeavoured to con- ceal thyseK, that we might not give thee due veneration?*" These words sufficiently prove that St. Columba acknowledged the episcopal order to be superior to his own, which was that of a presbyter. The chief intention of bishop Lloyd's work* is to show, that epis- copacy was the original form of church government in these islands, notwithstanding the instance adduced from the Culdees to the contrary. " This xmdertaking," remarks bishop Nicolson,f " became a bishop of our English church ; and the performance answered the great opinion that men of learning have always had of this worthy prelate. His aim in it, was the encountering an objection against the order of episcopacy from the story of the Scotch Culdees : an argument put into the mouths of our schismatics by Blondell and Selden, out of the abundant kindness they had for our establishment. In answering the several cavils of these learned men, the bishop thought himself obliged to give a short history of the first planting of the Scots in Great Britain, which thwarted the common road of their historians since the days of Hector Boethius. and bereaved them of about forty of their first monarchs." * An Historical Account of Church Govern- when they first received the Christian Religion, ment as it was in Great Britain and Ireland, | Historical Library, part ii. ch. i. page 93. CHAPTER X. THE POLITICAL AND CIVIL STATE OP BRITAIN FROM THE THIRD TO THE FIFTH CENTURY THE DEPARTURE OF THE ROMANS THE SCOTS AND PICTS THE GROANS OF THE BRITONS — DEPRESSED STATE OF THE BRITISH CHURCH. There is no truth more uniformly illustrated by the history of mankind, than that " Righteousness exalteth a nation." Public virtue and public prosperity will invariably be found to accompany each other. Were permanent prosperity attached to the wealth of a nation, the empire of the East would yet have remained : were it attached to the power, we should still have seen the empire of the West in existence. The theocracy of the Jews manifests, in every part of it, the blessing of God on their obedience, and his ^vrath when they disobeyed. For although in particular instances they listened to him, yet so perverse and obstinate were they in their rebellion, that it seemed to require no less than the wisdom and mercy of their Divine Governor to protract their existence as a nation to the destined period of their rejection. A similar fate appears to have awaited the British nation at the time when the Roman troops were withdrawn from this island, and she was left to maintain, if she could, a precarious and disturbed independence. The church, too, from its unavoidable connexion with the course and revolution of human affairs, had yet to struggle with enemies both open and secret ; and a series of troubles was at hand that materially affected its welfare. Before we proceed with the history of the ecclesiastical affairs of Britain, it will be necessary to take a slight survey of its civil and political occurrences, and of those events which led to the establishment of the Saxon dynasty in this coimtry. At the period when Constantino the Great assumed the purple, Britain became an important province and a flourishing coimtry, and was reduced to a state of refined and peaceful servitude. The civil and military officers of the imperial government adorned its towns with sum]ituous buildings : theatres, temples, baths, and various public edifices SCOTS AND PICTS. 101 were raised ; whilst the robust and hardy Britons were taught the useful art of husbandry for their support, and to elicit the riches of their soil by a general cultivation. The rights of savage freedom were contracted to the narrow limits of Caledonia, and the inhabitants of that northern region were divided, as early as the reign of Constantine, between the two great tribes of the Scots and the Picts.* Various attempts were made by the Romans to extend their conquests over the whole of the island, and of this they seem, at one time, to have entertained a sanguine hope ; but after the death of Severus [a. d. 211 .] this was abandoned, and the province extended no farther than the wall of Antoninus, between the friths of the Clyde and the Forth. Severus perceiving that nothing would prevent these northern tribes from renewing their incursions unless they Avere restrained by a more effectual barrier than any which his predecessors had raised, he determined to build a wall of solid stone a few paces north of Hadrian's rampart. This wall extended from Cousin's House, near the mouth of the river Tyne on the east, to Boulness on the Solway Frith on the west. In the year 364, South Britain was exposed to a furious incursion of the Scots, the Picts, and the Attacoti, who spread themselves, with rapid and irresistible fury, from the wall of Antoninus to the shores of Kent. In order to rescue the province the emperor Valentinian sent over the brave * The Scots were the relatives of the Cymri, 83, vol. i. p. xci , and Lloyd's Church Govern- being another branch of the great Celtic nation, ment, p. 3. Stillingfleet was of opinion that and who, at a period far beyond all authentic the Picts came from Scandinavia. But most history, had established themselves in Hibernia, of our ancient historians speak of Ireland as Erin, or Ireland. Hence that island, from its the mother of the Scots, and Caledonia as the predominant population, was generally called parent of the Picts: and the present Scotch Scotia, or Insula Scotorum, by the writers of must therefore be the descendants of Irish the sixth and seventh centuries. This is a emigrants, who settled amongst the Caledonians, circumstance which has often been forgotten, and communicated their own name to them, but it is of great importance to recollect it, for This, it seems, the later Scottish historians the name of Scotia, or Scotland, as applied to disdain to admit. See Critical Dissertations the northern portion of Britain, is compara- on the origin, antiquities, &c. of the Caledonians, tively of modern origin. — The Ficts were by Dr. John Macpherson, London, 1768 ; and originally Britons, who, living beyond the Introduction to the History of Great Britain Roman frontier, had continued in the enjoy- and Ireland, by James Macpherson, Esq. The ment of their dependence, and whose primitive Iiish descent of the Scots in reply to these two rudeness was unaffected by the civilization authors, has been strenuously maintained by which the Roman conquests had imparted to the Rev. Mr. Whitaker in his Genuine History their brethren. Vide Camden Brit, de Pict. p. of the Britons Asserted, pp. 134 — 293. 102 MAXIMUS. Thcodosius, father to the celebrated emperor of that name. In his march from Sandwich to London, he defeated several parties of the barbarians, and released a multitude of captives. Pursuing his conquests, Thcodosius restored the country, between the two walls, to the Roman empire, and gave it the name of Valentia, in honour of the emperor ; and by his energy and wisdom once more placed the whole of Britain in a state of defence and security. The first interruption of this happy state of things was occasioned by the adherence of the Britons to the standard of the usurper Maximus, who in the year 381 aspired to the imperial authority in this country, and ruled for several years over Gaul and Spain. He invaded Gaul with a fleet and army of the floAver of the British nation, and drained the country of her warlike youth ; the whole emigration, according to Ussher, consisting of 30,000 soldiers, and 100,000 plebeians, and he established Conan, a British officer who accompanied him, with regal authority in the peninsula between the Seine and the Loire, called Ai'morica or Brittany. The successes of Maximus emboldened him to make proposals to the emperor Thcodosius, who governed the East ; and it was stipulated that the former should content himself with the countries on this side of the Alps, and was accordingly acknowledged emperor of Britain, Gaul, Spain, and Germany. Aspiring, however, to the entire empire of the West, he was defeated and put to death by Theodosius [a. d. 388] after a fierce conflict in Pannonia. His ambition was not only ruinous to himself, but also to Britain, from having left her a prey to the inroads of her barbarian neighbours without suflScient strength to resist them. Theodosius the Great, on the death of Maximus, reunited the Roman empires of the East and West, and appointed Chrysanthus vicar of Britain. This officer soon restored the island to tranquillity, and continued to govern it for some time with ability and success, till he was appointed prefect of Constantinople. On the death of Theodosius the sceptre of the Western empire fell into the hands of Honorius, a child of ten years of age ; and as the barbaric races still continued to infest the Britons, Stilicho, an able Roman general, sent an adequate force to repel the invaders. But the terrible Alaric was now assembling his forces to march to the gates of Rome, which compelled Stilicho to recall the legion which had been stationed at the extremity of Britain to repress the ferocious Scots and Picts. A freedom was thus forced upon our ancestors, which they little coveted, and which DEPARTURE OF THE ROMANS. 103 was folloAved by a heavier and more lasting bondage. The Romans left the country well provided for its defence ; but the people without the spirit or power of resistance. When the keels of the Roman vessels quitted the British strand, both nations felt that the parting was final ; and the cliffs and shores of Britain were as thickly crowded by mourners for the departure of the Romans, as they had been, five centuries before, by desperate opponents of their first landing. Under the protection of the Romans, ninety-two considerable towns had arisen in the several parts of Britain ; and, among these, thirty-three cities were distinguished above the rest by their superior privileges and importance. The jurisdiction of each city over the adjacent country was supported by the patrimonial influence of the principal senators ; and the smaller towns, the villages, and the proprietors of land, consulted their own safety by adhering to the shelter of these rising republics. The sphere of their attraction was proportioned to the respective degrees of their wealth and populousness ; but the hereditary lords of ample possessions, who were not oppressed by the neighbourhood of any powerful city, aspired to the rank of independent princes, and boldly exercised the rights of peace and war. Several of these British chiefs might be the genuine posterity of ancient kings ; and many more would be tempted to adopt this honourable genealogy, and to vindicate their hereditary claims, which had been suspended by the usurpation of the Caesars. After the connexion between Rome and Britain had been entirely severed (a. d. 422), various independent and rival communities were formed in this country ; and the petty sovereigns of each contended amongst themselves for the empire. About this time we read of the kings of Devonshire, Cornwall, Kent, and Glastonbury ; several kings of Cumbria, the kings of Deira and Bernicia, several contemporary kings of Wales, and others in the north and west of England. We are told that there were nearly two hundred kinglings, the greater part of whom did not presume to wear crowns. Sometimes they united in their jealousies of some paramount tyrant, but more frequently raged among themselves : and the passion of Gildas has figured them as "the Lioness of Devonshire" encountering a "Lion's Whelp" in Dorsetshire; and "the Bear-Baiter" humbling before his regal brother " the great Bull-dog." " These kings were not appointed of God," exclaims the British Jeremiah, Gildas. During these contentions the Scots and Picts continued their predatory 104 DISTURBED STATE OF BRITAIN. warfare, and reduced the country to the greatest misery. Any degree of union amongst the Britons might have enabled them to repel their enemies ; but they had no inclination to lift the sword, except against each other. The most ancient historian of this disturbed and lamentable period is Gildas, himself the son of a British king ; and he bears a most forcible testimony against his countrymen. The British kings were stained with every vice, ruling, not for the protection, but for the spoil of their subjects ; and their misconduct soon involved both kings and people in one common ruin. There Avas moreover a most grievous famine and plague raging at this time ; insomuch that, as the same historian reports — "• there were scarcely living enough to bury the dead. But neither the present judgment, nor the prospect of another at hand, was sufficient to bring them to a reformation ; they continued incorrigible, and indulged in their habits of licentiousness and disorder. So that when ' God called to weeping, and to mourning, and to baldness, and to girding with sackcloth, behold joy and gladness, slaying of oxen, and killing of sheep, eating flesh and drinking wine ! saying. Let us eat and drink, for to-morrow we die.' For now the country was growing ripe for vengeance, and the measure of their iniquities, like that of the Amorites, was about to be filled up." In their extremity they pitifully sought the assistance of the Romans, and dispatched their ambassadors to Rome " in mournful manner, with their garments rent, and sand on their heads," humbly imploring that they would not permit so ancient a province, and one so serviceable to the Romans, to become a prey and a scorn to barbarians. " Upon this,"" says Gildas, in a style at once rumbling, rough, and fierce, " the Romans, moved with compassion, as far as human nature can be, at the relation of such horrors, sent forward, like eagles in their flight, their unexpected bands of cavalry by land and mariners by sea, and planting their terrible swords upon the shoulders of their enemies, they mow them down like leaves which fall at the destined period; and as a mountain torrent swelled with numerous streams, and bursting its banks with roaring noise, with foaming crest and yeasty wave rising to the stars, by whose eddying currents our eyes arc as it were dazzled, does with one of its billows overwhelm every obstacle in its Avay, so did our illustrious defenders vigorously drive our enemies" band beyond the sea."" This being the second time the Romans had rendered them assistance since their departure, they now plainly told the Britons, they were not at leisure 1o bring over legions as often as their enemies invaded DISTURBED STATE OF BRITAIN. 105 them ; but they must train up their own people to arms, to defend themselves, their wives, and their children. And the more to encourage them, they repaired the wall of Antoninus, built forts on the shore, and also taught them the use of their weapons, and on their departure told them not to expect any further assistance from them. But no sooner were the Scots and the Picts aware that the Romans had left the Britons to defend themselves, than they renewed their attack upon them with a still greater force, and reduced them to the utmost extremities ; whereupon they resolved once more to send to Aetius their last groans, in the following pitiful epistle : — " To Aetius, thrice Consul, the Groanes of the Brittaines. " The barbarians drive us back to the sea — the sea again putteth us back upon the barbarians : thus, between two kinds of death, we are either slaughtered or drowned. We are the remnants that survive of the Brittaines, and are your subjects : who, besides the enemy, are afflicted by famine and mortality, which, at this present time, extremely rageth in the land." But all further assistance is now denied them, Aetius being then, according to Bede, deeply engaged in the war with Bleda and Attila, kings of the Huns. "Had the Britons," says Fuller, "been as careful in bemoaning their sins to God, as they were clamorous to declare their sufferings to the Romans, their requests in heaven had been as graciously received, as their petitions on earth were carelessly rejected." Not long after the failure of this melancholy appeal, the Britons were reduced to the utmost despair, by intelligence that the Scots, who had always retired within their own northern confines after pillaging and destroy- ing at their pleasure, were now assembling a large army for the purpose of extirpating the natives, and settling great numbers of their own people in Britain. This report, whatever might be its authenticity, appears to have been impressed upon the already despondent Britons most deeply, and to have excited them to more than ordinary exertions. Their leaders assembled together, to consider the best means for averting the impending ruin. The hope of Roman aid had utterly failed them, and confidence in their own strength found no place in their counsels ; when, at length, Vortigern, a British king, who appears to have possessed considerable influence over his countrymen, doomed himself to a fatal celebrity by being the first suggester 106 DISTITRBED STATE OF BKITAIN. of the destructive project, which brought the " Dragons of Germany" (as the bards called the Saxons) as friends and allies into Britain. From this time to the arrival of the Saxons, we know verj^ little that is authentic of ecclesiastical matters. "The British Church," says Gibbon, " might be composed of thirty or forty bishops, with an adequate proportion of the inferior clergy. The interest, as well as the temper, of the clergy, was favourable to the peace and union of their distracted country : those salutary lessons might be frequently inculcated in their popular discourses ; and the episcopal synods Avere the only councils that could pretend to the weight and authority of a national assembly. In such councils, where the princes and magistrates sat promiscuously Avith the bishops, the important affairs of the state, as well as of the church, might be freely debated ; differences reconciled, alliances formed, contributions imposed, wise resolu- tions often concerted, and sometimes executed ; and there is reason to believe, that in moments of extreme danger, a Penclragon, or Dictator, was elected by the general consent of the Britons. These pastoral cares, so worthy of the episcopal character, were interrupted however, by zeal and superstition ; and the British clergy incessantly laboured to eradicate the Pelagian heresy, which they abhorred as the peculiar disgrace of their native country."* The loss of the support and patronage by the Roman government to the places of Divine worship and the clergy, would necessarily prove a great detriment to the church. The cause of learning and of science could not fail of sustaining material injury by the withdrawal of that protection afforded by the Romans, and by the secession of many eminent men from the island, now when it ceased to be subject to the imperial government. No doubt, the frequent wars with the Picts and Scots, by destroying their churches, and, what is worse, by introducing a corruption of manners among the clergy as well as the laity, were extremely prejudical to the Christians. However, if we may believe Gildas and Bede, it Avas not so much the wars as the excessive plenty immediately after the famine, that corrupted the manners of the Britons. The people, say these historians, from a state of extreme want, being on a sudden surrounded with plenty, abandoned them- selves to all manner of wickedness. The quiet they enjoyed by their peace with the northern nations, was spent only in sinking deeper into excess and licentiousness. The clergy no longer preached to their flocks the precepts of the Gospel, which they themselves so little regarded. To this general * Decline and F Eboracum, (York), comities. / 2. Britannia Prima: which included the south- ) ^ _ ._ , . > Londmum, (London), em counties. ) 3. Britannia Secunda : which consisted of \ Wales, and part of England bordering on > Carleolum, (Caerleon). Wales. ,' In the fourth century each of these metropoles was the seat of a bishop, whose orders were recognized by the whole catholic community. In the year 314, they sat as representatives of the British churches in the council of Aries ; in 325 at the great cECumenical council of Nice ; in 347 at that of Sardica; and in 359 at Ariminum. From whom these prelates originally derived their orders, no record remains ; but that they were legiti- mately ordained, their presence at these several councils of the whole Chris- tian community, is a sufficient proof. Had any doubt existed of the validity of their orders, they would not have been summoned ; neither would they have been permitted by the other bishops to subscribe to the decrees of the council as members of the church catholic. * Thackery's Ancient Britain, i. 176. YORK. Ill In the third century there were twenty-eight cities in Britain, of which Ussher has given a list.-'' How many of these cities were supplied with bishops, does not appear from any documents extant. The author of De Antiquitate Britannic^ EcclesicB, states that the metropolitan of York pre- sided over seven bishops ; that of Caerleon over the same number ; and London over fourteen. The sees of the suffragans of Caerleon, during the sixth century, have been preserved ; Spelman sets them down as Hereford, Llandaff, Llan-Badarn-Vawr, Bangor, Asaph, Worcester, Margam (Glamor- gan), the last Ussher thinks should be Caer Keby, in the Isle of Anglesey. I. YoEK, the Eboracum of the Romans, was one of the most important of the British cities, as being the seat of the Roman emperors Avhen they visited Britain. In Nennius' catalogue it is called Caer Ebrauc, and accord- ing to Llwyd, the learned Welsh antiquary, it is identified with the city called by the Britons Caer Effioc. The emperor Hadrian fixed his principal station in this city in 124. Here Severus and Chlorus died, and here, though the evidence is somewhat doubtful, Constantine the Great was born. It was not only a mighty fortress, but a city of palaces and temples. The reason of its being selected as an archiepiscopal see is obvious. The territorial extent of the new diocese was doubtlessly that of the province of Maxima Caesariensis, of which York was then the principal Roman city. Bishop Godwin and Heylyn have given us the names of such prelates of York as have survived the injuries of time, and the destruction of the records of that see. 1. Sampson, appointed by Lucius about A. D. 180. 2. Taurinus, appointed to the see by Constantius Chlorus, who flourished a.d. 304. 3. Eborius, who signed the decrees at the council of Aries in 314. 4. Pirannus, appointed by king Arthur about 522. 5. Tadiacus, who in the time of the Saxon persecution a.d. 586, fled with the archbishop of London into Cornwall or Wales. The mission of Augustine led eventually to the restoration of the see * Ussher prefaces his catalogue of these we have copied from two most ancient Cotton cities with the following remarks : — " Of these MSS., and after collating it with nine other Nennius composed a catalogue; which, foras- MSS. have here subjoined, together with the much as we cannot obtain a knowledge of the interpretations of the British names." — Brit, episcopal sees of Britain from any other soiirce, Eccles. cap. v. 112 LONDON. under Edwin, king of Northumberland, who, after his conversion to Chris- tianity in 627, erected a chui-ch here, referred to in chapter XII., which he dedicated to St. Peter, and made Paulinua archbishop of the see. Gre- gory probably selected the two cities of York and London for metropolitan sees, because they had possessed that rank under the Romans. On the conversion of the Saxons, Gregory recommended Augustine to make Lon- don and York the two metropolitical sees of England, each to have twelve bishops under it, and each to have a pall,* and to be equal in dignity ; the first ordained or consecrated to have precedence. The pall for London he actually granted : that for York he promised when these parts shoidd be- come more evangelized, and when Augustine should, according to his orders, send a bishop for consecration ; but Augustine, who was consecrated by the general title of the " Bishop of the English " (Anglorum Episcopus), that he might be at liberty to select his seat in whatever part of the country he pleased, being fixed at Canterbury, secured the metropolitical dignity for that see. After frequent disputes for precedency with the archbishop of York, which were carried on for many years with the greatest animosity, it was ultimately decided in favour of Canterbury, the archbishop of that see being styled Primate of all England, as a superior designation to that of the archbishop of York, who is styled Primate of England.f II. The second metropolitan see was that of London, the metropolis of Britannia Prima, and often the residence of the Vicarius Britanniarum. It was soon perceived by the sagacious Romans that London, though well fitted by its natural strength for a military station, was still better qualified to be a place of extensive commerce. Hence it was never, like other settle- ments of the Romans, formed into what they termed a military colony. From this point, as we learn from the Itinerary of Antoninus, branched most of the great roads into the interior; a decisive proof that they regarded it as the most important station they possessed in the island. And since by the general rule of the church, the ecclesiastical government followed that of the civil, we have every reason to believe, that London formed one of the ♦ For a description of the Pall, see Appendix, Scriptores, vol. ii. col. 173.5; Rodulph, arch- No. VI. bishop of Canterbury's Epistle; Wharton's I Sec the dispute as to precedence between Angha Sacra, vol. i. pp. 6.5 — 77 ; Staveley's Canterbury and York, in Tvvysden's Decern History of Chiirches, p. 92. LONDON. 113 earliest of the metropolitan sees. The names of the prelates which have been preserved are as foUoAvs : 1. Theanus. It is said that he built St. Peter's, Cornhill, assisted by Ciran, chief butler to king Lucius, and made it his metropolitical see in 179. 2. Eluanus, who built a library near to the same church, and converted many Druids to the Christian faith. He is said to have been sent by Lucius to Eleutherius, bishop of Rome. [See p. 46.] 3. Cadar. 8. Iltute.* 4. Obinus. 9. Theodwyn, or Dedwyn. 5. Conan. 10. Thedred. 6. PaUadius. 11. Hillary. 7. Stephan. 12. Guiteline.f 13. Restitutus, who was present at the council of Aries in 314, and subscribed the canons as " Ex provincm Britannivn brother, to complete that which had been so piously begun. Cynebil readily complied, and when the time of fasting and prayer was over, he [Cedd] there built the monastery, which is now called Lestingeau (Whitby), and established therein the religious customs of Lindisfarn, where they had been educated.'"* Germanus adopted a similar method in Wales, previous to the " Alleluiatic Victory." He is said to have raised a sacred edifice formed of the branches of trees interwoven together, in which he and his followers celebrated the services of Easter, and baptized the greater part of the army of Britons, before they proceeded to meet their enemies. (See ch. vii. p. 68.) A considerable number of churches are called after the names of the primitive saints of our island, and therefore may be considered as so many * Eccles. Hist. lib. iii. c. 23. CONSECRATION THE CROSS. 135 undoubted monuments of the existence of those persons ; and which must recall to the minds of the present members of the church, the blessed memory of her faithful children departed in the true faith of her Lord. But much more do our cathedrals, and the towns where they are stationed ; and those which grew up about the great abbeys, remind us (not of saints only) but of those particular saints through whom the several portions of our land were first added to the church, or the sacred edifice first built, or the servants of the Lord brought from a distance ; and St. David, St. Asaph, St. Chad, St. Bride, St. Alban, St. Germanus, and many others, have left their names, even to our own days, associated more or less with the scenes of their earthly sojourning. Anciently, when a church was built, it was customary to have a cross, or the figure of a cross fixed on it, or near to its locality. Ceolfrid, writing to Naiton, king of the Picts, says, " that because the church was made by the death of Him who gave it life, it is wont to bear the sign of his holy cross on the forehead, to the end that it may, by constant protection of his sign, be defended from the assaults of evil spirits, and by the frequent admonition of the same, be instructed in like manner to crucify its flesh with its vices and concupiscences."* The cross was everything among the first Christians : it was made the chief emblem of their faith, the chief mark of their community, their standard and their watchword. Its name was constantly on their lips, its image on their bosoms ; they continually uttered its appellation and made its sign. To its sacred form were attributed intrinsic and peculiar powers to protect from evil those by whom it was worn ; and it was carefidly imprinted alike on their sacred edifices and the tombs of the departed. In those parts of the country where no sacred edifices of any kind had been erected, the new converts to the Christian faith occasionally assembled for public worship in any commodious place, where some memorial of our Saviour's j^assion was exhibited. Stone crosses probably owed their origin to marking the Druid stones with the symbol of the Christian faith, in order to change the worship without break- ing the prejudice. Mr. Haslam states, that " Cornwall, Wales, and Ireland, abound with wayside and churchyard crosses ; and it is a remarkable fact, which seems to have escaped notice, that all these, with a very few excep- tions, are Greek crosses ; that is, having four short equal limbs. They are, in general, carved upon granite, or formed by four holes pierced through the * Betle, lib. v. c. 21. 136 CROSSES ANCIENT BAPTISTERIES. block, and all fully attest by their venerable and rounded appearance, that they are of ancient date. The most venerable of these are of a memorial character, and bear Roman-British names, surmounted with a Greek cross, cut upon a long block of hewn granite, such as the Druids used for forming their circles. These may fairly be attributed to the fourth or fifth century, and were erected before cemeteries were in general use ; for they are found, like the cairns or tumuli of the heathen British chiefs, upon hills and downs and other conspicuous places. The greater number of crosses in Cornwall consist of a single shaft of granite, surmounted with a disc, in Avhich a cross of four equal limbs is carved in bold relief, or sunk into the surface. Sometimes the limbs are bound by a circle, the intermediate spaces being pierced; and some few are formed by four holes arranged crosswise, and perforated through the disc, as the cross of St. Piran. In the western parts of the county, instead of a cross, the disc bears a rude sculpture of a human figure, with arms extended. Every parish in Corn- wall contains several crosses ; and almost every churchyard has one at least, which is often raised on a mound or steps, and always on the south side of the church, facing the west. Besides this, others are frequently foimd, sometimes on the wayside, and sometimes used as boundary-stones, or land- marks, in different parts of the parish. The rude and venerable appearance of these crosses fully confirms the antiquity which their Greek character assigns to them ; nor is there, generally speaking, any moulding or other feature upon them which would lead one to attribute them to a later date.* Another peculiarity connected with the primitive churches of Britain is, their being found in the neighbourhood of a spring or well, where, we may presume, the converts to the Christian faith were admitted to the privileges which the Redeemer of mankind had purchased for them. Fo7is is a fount or spring, and by an easy transition it is frequently put for the stream, and fotites for streams, rills, rivulets, brooks, and running waters. The idea preserved in the y^oxdi fotmt is as scrip turally true as it is beautiful. " In that day," says the prophet Zechariah, " there shall be a fountain opened to the house of David, and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem for sin and for uncleanness.'*t The waters of holy baptism flow from Christ, they are of his institution ; and the notion intended to be kept alive and continually presented to the mind by a font, is that of a stream ever springing for the * Haslam's Pcrran-zabiiloe, p. 18. tian baptism, which was often administered in f The V! or A. fountain properly expresses Chris- fountains and rivers.— /?/>. Lnirtli on Zech. xiii. 1. ANCIENT BAPTISTERIES. 137 cleansing of the church. " Baptism," writes Dr. Hammond, " as an initia- tion into the church, is an entrance into a Christian and eternal life ; and the water in the baptistery, or font maintained from the spring, is here called a river," (Rev. xxii. i.) Baptism continued to be administered in the open air, at any rate occasionally, until the time of the Saxons ; for Paulinus, archbishop of York, baptized a thousand persons at one time in the river Swale. Bede, who flourished early in the seventh century, says, " So great was then the fervour of the faith, and the desire of the washing of salvation among the nation of the Northumbrians, that Paulinus, coming with the king and queen to Adgebrin (Yeverin), the royal county-seat, stayed there with them thirty-six days, fully occupied in catechizing and baptizing ; dimng which days, from morning till night, he did nothing else but instruct the people resorting from all villages and places, in Christ's saving word ; and when instructed, he washed them with the water of absolution in the river Glen, which is close by. In the province of the Deira also, where he was wont often to be with the king, he baptized in the river Swale, which runs by the village Catterick; for as yet oratories or fonts could not be made in the early infancy of the church in those parts."* The baptistery commonly consisted of two apartments, — the porch, or ante-room, where the persons to be baptized made the confession of their faith, and renunciation of Satan; and an inner room where the ceremony of immersion was performed. Bap- tisteries, according to Durandus, continued to be outside of the church until the sixth century. These buildings were covered at the top, and sup- plied with fresh spring water by pipes laid into the sustaining columns or walls, and let out by spouts in the form of stags' heads, lambs, and other animals. In the first number of Brown's History of the edifice of the Metro- politan Church of St. Peter, York, in Plate III. is given a plan of Paulinus' second edifice, where the probable position of the wooden baptistery en- closing a spring still remaining, is pointed out; and though now almost obscured by several successive subsequent erections, the discovery is very valuable to the ecclesiastical antiquary. Mr. Haslam informs us, that the recently discovered church of St. Piran has a spring within twenty yards of it, in an easterly direction. Here probably was the entrance to the enclosed .space in which the church was built, where the baptistery stood, and * Eccles. Hist. lib. ii. c. 14. T 138 A NCI EM HA IT I ST KU FES. perhaps stands to this day beneath the sand. There was a spring beside the stone church of St. Ninian at Whitherne, in Galloway ; and also an old well called St. Ninian's well at Fenton, Northumberland, which was probably for some time the scene of his labours. Bede, again, thus describes St. Ciithberfs oratory at Lindisfarae. " When the bishop had built himself a small dwelling, with a trench about it, and the necessary cells, and an oratory, he ordered his brethren to dig a pit in the floor of the dwelling, although the ground was hard and stony, and no hopes appeared of any spring. Having done this upon the faith and at the request of the servant of God, the next day it appeared full of water, and to this day affords plenty of its heavenly bounty to all that resort thither." St. Cuthbert was a bishop from Ireland, and, though liA'ing among Saxons, he still retained to the last the customs of the Eastern church. * Hence we learn what was the British and Irish observance with regard to the sacrament of Baptism, and also that the Saxons were the first in England to introduce the font within the church ; a custom which the Normans followed, and all succeeding generations have continued to observe, f In Cornwall there are several welLs which bear the name of some patron saint, who appears to have had a church consecrated to him or her on the spot. Leland in his Itinerary, iii. 30, giving a minute description of Falmouth harbour, on the east, says, " there is a praty village or fischar town with a pere, cawlid S. Maws [MachutusJ], and there is a chapelle of hym, and his chaire of stone, and his loelle." Again, speaking of the church of St. Germochus, in Cornwall, he says " it is three miles from St. Michael's Mont by est south est, and a mile from the se ; his tomb is yet scene ther. STGermoke ther buried. S. Germoke's chair in the chirch-yard. S. Germoke's ivelle a little without the chirch-yard." (Itin. iii. 16.) The well and the tomb, says Whitaker, are now lost, overlooked and forgotten in the frigid philosophy of Protestantism towards * When his grave and coffin, in Durham embroidered vestments, which were complete. Cathedral, were opened for the purpose of f Haslam's Perran-zabuloc, p. 118. gratifying curiosity in 1827, a small Greek J Better known on the continent as St. cross was discovered on his breast, which was Maclovius or St. Malo, a native of Glamor- taken out, (!) and is now to be seen in gansbire. He was bishop of Aleth, the the librarj' of the Dean and Chapter, together metropolis of Bretagn6, and died, according to with an ivory comb and a portion of bis Ussher a. d. 570. ANCIENT BAPTISTERIES. 139 all relics of ancient saints, and in the idiot contemplation of Germoclius as an ancient Papist ! * In the parish of Madron, or Maddern, in Avhich the town of Penzance is situated, there are traditions, records, and traces of several oratories and wells. The oratory of St. Maddern was built near a little stream which flows under its south-western angle ; here a well had been excavated, which is continually fed by the clear stream as it passes onward. The well is enclosed by rude masonry, having an aperture into the nave, about 4 feet in height, and 2^ inches in width : a moor- stone lintel is placed across the top to support the little roof. Norden, who wrote early in the seventeenth century, says of this well, that " its fame in former ages was greater for the supposed virtue of healinge which St. Madderne had thereinto infused, and many votaries made annale pylgrymages unto it, as they doe even at this day, vmto the well of St. Winnifrede beyond Chester, in Denbighshire, whereunto thowsands doe yearelye resorte." Bishop Hall, sometime bishop of the diocese of these western parts, bears testimony to the efficacy of this well. In his Mystery of Godliness, when speaking of the good office which angels do to God's servants, the bishop says, " Of Avhiche kind was that noe less than miraculous cure which at St. Madderne's well in Cornwall was wrought on a poor cripple, whereof beside the attestation of many hundreds of the neighbours, I tooke stricte and impartial examination in my last triennial visitation. I found neither art nor collusion, the cure done, the author an invisible God." The well of St. Maddern is still frequented at the parish feast in the month of July. In the next parish to Maddern, eastward, there is another holy well, to which it is customary to resort at the feast time. It is situated like St. Maddern"s well in a moor, called Fossis Moor, in the manor of Lanesely. This name implies the existence of a British Church upon the manor, and probably it stood near this well : there are a great quantity of stones lying in the immediate neighbourhood, which may once have formed a similar oratory to that of St. Maddern. At St. Just, near Cape Cornwall, there is a small chapel at a spot called Parkan-chapel, that is, chapel field ; a small water-course runs near it, and the remains of a small dwelling-house appear at the west end. This chapel was doubtless rebuilt on the site of an ancient oratory -which was there in * St. GeniiocLus \mis a native of Iiclaiul, Brcaca (Broag), Sinnin, Maniaii, EUvcri, aiiil came into Cornwall aeeDniiiaiiitd I13 St. Crencnna, and Helena. — Lc/im/l, Itin. iii. 4. 140 ANCIEXT BAPTISXEKIKS. the time of the Conqueror. A small stone cross was found in the water- course near the chapel, and is now preserved in the parish church. The original name of this parish was Lafrouda ; it seems probable that an early church once stood on the site now occupied by the parish church ; a vestige of some ancient fabric may be seen in a garden wall near the church ; it is a head and face rudely carved in a soft stone, corresponding precisely with the heads which once orjiamented the doorway at St. Piran"s. In taking down the chancel wall in order to rebuild it in 1838, an ornamental stone was found built into the ancient masonry, bearing the following inscription, — SiLVS hic iacet, and on the adjoining side a cross, with one of its limbs formed like a crook. This stone must be of great antiquity, and is possibly a monument of the church of Roman-British times. At St. Levan, the adjoining parish, which lies between the Land's End and the Logan Rock, there is a well and baptistery, rudely but strongly built, which however has been destroyed, and is now overgrown with brambles. The patron saint is supposed to be St. Levine, who was martyred by the Saxons whilst visiting the interior of the country. She came to Cornwall from' Ireland with St. Buryan, St. Breaca and other Christians, w^ho founded churches in this neighbourhood. St. Levan's baptistery stands in a valley opening to the sea shore ; it is, as usual, beside a little stream, and higher up the valley are the remains of the little oratory of St. Levan. In the parish of St. Buryan stands the oratory of St. Dellyn, situated close upon the sea. This building is somewhat larger than the other oratories, measuring about 37 feet by 16 ; it is built beside a stream, and lies, as do all the ruins, east and west. Cornwall, it should be remembered, owes its conversion to the Christian faith to the zeal of the Irish missionaries, who, at the beginning of the fifth century, came over in great numbers, which accounts for almost all the Cornish churches being dedicated to Irish saints. The oratories of Cornwall are similar to the little stone churches of Ireland, the foundation of which is attributed to the same period, and often to the same persons who erected oratories in Cornwall. These oratories fully confirm the early history of that county, both in their dissimilarity to any Saxon or Norman remains, and also in the similarity which, as might be expected, is found to exist between them and the earlier Christian structures in Ireland. ••' * Sec an interesting article in tiic Archaeological Journal, vol. ii. 225. CHAPTER XIII. SAXON INVASION — VORTIGEBN — AURELIUS AMBROSIUS — ARTHUR — ST. DUBRICIUS SYNOD AT BREVI ST. TEILO ST. OUDOCEUS THE HEPTARCHY ST. GREGORY, AND THE ENGLISH SLAVES CONVERSION OP THE ANGLO-SAXONS ARMORICA. Before proceeding with the historical account of the ecclesiastical affairs of Britain, it will be necessary to take a summary review of its civil and political matters, as connected with the invasion of the Saxons. About the year 446, Vortigern appears to have become the Pendragon, or chief ruler of the southern part of Britain ; but he found a rival in Aurelius Ambrosius, a chieftain of imperial descent, whom many wished to raise to the supreme command. Whilst Vortigern was contending with Ambrosius, two Jutish chieftains, Hengist and Horsa, arrived in the Isle of Thanet with three keels, or vessels. According to some of the chroniclers, they were invited by Vortigern as his allies ; whilst others represent them as exiles from their native land. Their proffered aid was accepted, and by their intrepid valour they soon delivered the country from the Caledonian invaders. The beauty of Rowena, the daughter of Hengist, captivated the heart of Vortigern ; and the fertile Isle of Thanet was the price which was paid for this infatuated connexion. The folly of Vortigern rendered him odious to his subjects, who quickly deposed him, and invested his son with the administration of the kingdom : the clergy, too, owing to Vortigern"s treachery and dissolute habits, convened a public synod, and solemnly ex- communicated him."" After two or three battles, the Saxons sustained a severe defeat, which compelled them to re-embark for Germany. At the expiration of five years, Vortigern again resumed the government, which occasioned the return of Hengist with a more powerful force. In the black catalogue of crimes which sometimes meets the eye in ancient history, that of the treacherous convention between the Saxons and the Britons on Salis- * Wilkinr's Concil. i. 2. Neniiiiis, c. 39. 142 ARTHUR. bury Plain, is one of the most perfidious recorded by our chroniclers. The British chiefs, trusting to that reciprocal confidence which ought ever to sustain the intercourse of peace and war, came unarmed to the festival ; and at a time when the Britons were lost to every thought but that of pleasure, Hengist exclaimed, " Nlmed eure saxes,'' (" Take your seaxes,") when a dreadfvd slaughter ensued, in Avhich four hundred and sixty chieftains are said to have fallen. The perfidious Vortigern at length retired to his own dominions among the Silurians ; where, as Nennius states, he shortly after perished by the fall of a castle, struck with lightning. According to Matthew of Westminster, a Cambrian council was held in A. D. 465, for electing Aurelius Ambrosius king of the Britons. " With- out delay," he says, " when the morrow came, Aurelius Ambrosius (of Britannia Minor) arrived Avith his brother Uthyr Pendragon and an innu- merable host of armed men. The Britons, therefcfire, being dispersed on all sides, flocked together, and having convoked the clergy of the realm, raised Aurelius to the throne. And he being so lifted up, endeavoured as far as he was able, to repair the churches which had been razed even to the ground. He was boimtiful in bestowing gifts, diligent in divine obser- vances, modest, underrating liars and their flatterers, vigorous on foot, more vigorous on horseback, and skilled in the command of warlike hosts." While the continent of Europe and Africa yielded, without resistance, to the barbarians, the British island, alone and unaided, maintained a long, a vigorous, though an unsuccessful struggle against the formidable pirates ; till, at length, resistance became more languid, as the number and boldness of the assailants continually increased. Winning their way by slow and painful efforts, the Saxons, the Angles, and their various confederates, advanced from the north, from the east, and from the south, till their vic- torious banners were united in the centre of tlie island. In a century of perpetual, or at least implacable, war, much courage and some skill must have been exerted for the defence of Britain. The tomb of Vortimer, the son of Vortigern, was erected on the margin of the sea-shore, as a landmark formidable to the Saxons, whom he had thrice vanquished in the fields of Kent. Ambrosius, for nearly half a century, sustained a glorious career, and his valour was crowned with splendid success. But every British name is effaced by the illustrious name of Artliur, the hereditary prince of the Silures, in South Wales, and the elective king or general of the nation. The fame of this patriot monarch has been the inexhaustible theme of trou- SYNOD OF BKEVI. 143 badoiir, bard, and minstrel, and his heroism the subject of countless ballads and romances, so that his '' long and broad spear well contrived for slaugh- ter," and his " trustye sword girt upon his thigh,'' together with his far- famed knights of the Round Table, must have made him familiar with the early recollections of every English reader. But leaving the marvellous exploits of Arthur to Geoffrey of Monmouth, and the writers of his chival- rous age, it appears, according to the most rational account, that he defeated in twelve successive battles the Angles of the north, and the Saxons of the west ; but the declining age of the hero was embittered by popular ingrati- tude and domestic misfortunes.* The bravest British warriors, who pre- ferred exile to slavery, found a secure refuge in the mountain fastnesses of Wales, as well as in Cornwall, whilst others acquired a settlement on the western angle of Armorica, which at this time acquired the new appellation of Britannia Parva, or Lesser Britain. Dubricius at this time presided over the see of Caerleon, and is said to have had the honour of crowning king Arthur. During the early part of the sixth centurj% Pelagianism again infested the Cambro-British churches. With a view, therefore, to suppress this insidious heresy, Dubricius in the year 519, convened a synod of his bishops and clergy at Llanddewi Brevi, in Cardiganshire, of which Giraldus Cambrensis has given the following account in his " Life of St. David." " The Pelagian stain and detestable heresy, although formerly extin- guished by St. Germanus of Auxerre and Lupus of Treves who were sent over into this island, having now broken out again with fresh virulence and malignity, to the destruction of the catholic faith, gave occasion for convoking a general synod of the whole of Wales. Whence the bishops and abbots and many religious men of different ranks, as also the lay princes and people, being assembled together out of the whole country at Brevi in the Ceretic district (Cardiganshire), when addresses made by several before the public audience did not prevail so as to bring back the people, almost * " The Romance of Arthur," says Gibbon, lar romance of Arthur, and the knights of the " transcribed in the Latin of Geoffrey of Mon- Round Table. At length the light of science mouth, and afterwards translated into the and reason was rekindled ; the talisman was fashionable idiom of the times, was enriched broken ; the visionary fabric melted into air ; with the various though incoherent ornaments, and by a natural though unjust reverse of pub- which were familiar to the experience, the lie opinion, the sevcritj' of the present age is learning, or the fancy of the twelfth century. inclined to question the existence of Arthur." — Every nation embraced and adorned the popu- Decline^- Fall of the Roman Empire, c. xxxviii. 144 SYNOD OF BRKVl. irrevocably infected with heretic depravity, into the path of faith, at length Paulinus the bishop, with whom David had formerly studied the liberal arts in his boyhood, harangued with persuasive words, that in such jeopardy of the Church they should all in common send for the bishop newly con- secrated by the patriarch, a holy, as well as discreet and eloquent man, who had not yet come. Messengers therefore are sent once and a second time to no purpose. At length, however, two most holy and faithful men are sent, namely Daniel and Dubricius. But David forseeing their coming in the spirit, prophesied to his brothers that great men would come to him on the morrow. In the morning therefore the aforementioned men arrived, as the holy man had foreseen, and were honourably received and treated with hospitality according to his means. At length on account of their sanctity as well as the authority of the synod, obeying their advice, he set out with them on the following day for the synod. On their arrival they are received by the congregation with the greatest joy and congratulation. The office of preaching, therefore, is imposed by all upon father David, who standing on the level ground, — whereas the others who preached there before were accustomed to ascend a heap of garments piled up together, — he thundered with so clear and gracious a voice into the ears of all, the most distant as well as those standing near, that all in so great an assembly heard him in common and to their profit. According to that scripture, ' Ojjen thy mouth, and I will fill it ; and elsewhere, ' When he shall stand before kings and governors, do not think how and what ye may speak. For it shall be given you in that hour what he may speak." And afterwards, ' For it is not ye that speak, but the Spirit of your Father who speaketh in you.' Which things having been thus performed and the discourse finished, by grace co-operating, the whole disappeared, being thoroughly dissipated and destroyed. But father David, by the common election and at the same time acclamation of all, clergy as well as peoj)le, was raised to be archbishop of the whole of Wales, an honour which before also had been pur[)osely yielded to him by Dubricius."' A few years after St. David convoked another synod of all the clergy of Wales ; but for what specific purpose is not known. Here the acts and decrees of the Synod of Brevi were confirmed, and some new canons passed for the regulation of the doctrine and discipline of the churches. This synod is called " The Synod of Victory ; "" and the decrees of these two .synods, according to Giraldus, '•■ were committed to writing by St. David ])EATH OF ARTHirR. 145 himself, and deposited in the archives of his own cathedral, and having been confirmed by the authority of the church of Rome,* all the churches of Wales received them as their rule and directory in all ecclesiastical matters. These ancient documents were in after times destroyed by the frequent incursions of pirates, who coming from the Orkneys in long boats, were accustonied to invade and lay waste the maritime provinces of Wales." In the following year after the Synod of Brevi, the great battle of Badon Moimt was fought, which checked the progress of the valorous Cerdic, and reduced the martial Saxon to a state of inglorious repose. The success of the Britons at this time prevented the Saxon troops from crossing the Severn, and pushing their conquests into the Silurian territories ; and thus the churches of Cambria were providentially enabled to enjoy a short repose, and to afford an asylum to their persecuted brethren, who fled from those parts of the island which were subjugated by the Saxons. The death of Arthur took place at Camlan, in Cornwall, in the year 542 ; and his name and memory deserve to be honoured in the annals of genuine history, instead of those of romance and fiction. " He reformed the celebration of Divine worship," says Ussher, " which had been nearly destroyed in the cities, villages, and towns ; he restored the churches which had been destroyed by the Pagan Saxons, or were going to decay ; and he took care to have proper pastors and bishops appointed to watch over the churches, and to devote themselves to the study of religion." Two years afterwards the British christians sustained another loss by the death of their most eminent prelate, St. David. Under his presidency the cause of religion attained to great prosperity. He sustained -whilst living a high reputation for sanctity; and has been deservedly honoured by succeeding generations. " He was to all," says Giraldus, "• a mirror and a pattern of life : he taught both by precept and example : was an excellent preacher in words, but more excellent in \vorks. He was a doctrine to those who heard him, a model to the religious, life to the needy, defence to orphans, support to widows, a father to the fatherless, a rule to monks, a directory to men of the world; being made all things to all men that he might win all to God." * As no mention is made of this confirmation says, "the testimony of Giraldus, having no in any Life of St. David, the learned Ussher concurrent evidence to support it, is of verj^ thinks it wants authentic proof. Stillingfleet little force in this matter." U 146 ST. XEII.O ST. OUDOCEUS. St. Teilo, or Teliaiis, succeeded to the primacy of Menevia on the death of St. David. He first studied under St. Dubricius, and afterwards under Paulinus, at Ty-gwyn ar Daf. St. Teilo made a pilgrimage to Jerusalem in company with St. David and St. Padarn. On his return he was appointed bishop of LlandafF, but his diocese being afflicted with a dreadful pestilence called the yellow fever, he retired with many of the clergy to Armorica, where he remained for nearly seven years with Sampson, the celebrated archbishop of Dole. Passing through Cornwall on his way home, he found Gerennius, the prince of the Cornish Britons, on his dying bed, to Avhom he administered the blessed Eucharist. On his appointment to the metropolitical see of Menevia, he removed the primacy to LlandafF, appointing Ismael to be his suffragan at the former place. St. Teilo departed this life about the year 566 ; and was succeeded in the primacy of LlandafF by Oudoceus, a man Avho " excelled in learning and eloquence, as well as in the purity and holiness of his life." During the episcopate of St. Oudoceus he convened three several synods ; at the first he excommunicated Mouricus, king of Glamorganshire, for the murder of Cynitus. After two years he repented of his crime, and came to the bishop in tears, desiring to be restored to the communion of the church. Previous to which, however, he was compelled to undergo a course of penitential discipline, by fasting, prayer, and alms' deeds. A second synod was convened to give sentence on king Morcant, who had assassinated his uncle, and was likewise compelled to make satisfaction to the church. At the third synod Guidnert was solemnly excommunicated for the murder of his brother. At the end of three years this prince not having fully complied with the prescribed course of discipline, the bishop refused to remove the censure. St. Oudoceus dying soon after, Guidnert received absolution from Berthguin, his successor in the see of LlandafF, having made satisfaction with prayers, fasting, and alms. *' Notwithstanding the depressed condition of the British Church during the sixth century, owing to the loss of its national independence, we find it still fruitful in producing many eminent saints and ecclesiastics. St. Sampson that " child of prayer," after studying under St. Iltutus, became bishop of Dole, in Brittany, and was present at the second council of Paris (a.d. 557), subscribing his name, as "I Sampson, a sinner, and a bishop." Then follows St. Gildas the Wise, the schoolfellow of St. * Spelman, Concil. torn, i p. 63. SETTLEMENT OF THE ANGLO-SAXONS. 147 Sampson, who, like John the Baptist, was habited in a rough hair cloth, made the bare floor his bed, and had a stone for his bolster. Like the Baptist, too, he vehemently exclaimed against the prevailing vices of his fellow countrymen, and earnestly exhorted them to appease the Divine anger by the reformation of their conduct. Had his object in writing the " History of the Britons" been narrative rather than declamation, we should have possessed much more information respecting the primitive Church of ovir country. About this time flourished St. Daniel, Avho assisted his father in the establishment of " the beautiful, or lofty choir," as Ussher calls it, Bangor-Iscoed, which subsequently became the throne of a bishop. The cathedral is dedicated to God in the name of St. Daniel. We might mention many worthy men who flourished at this time ; for " a national church," says Dr. Fuller, " being a large room, it is hard to count all the candles God lighted up. Most of these men (continues this writer) seem born under a travelling planet ; seldom having their education in the place of their nativity ; ofttimes composed of Ii-ish infancy, British breeding, and French preferment ; taking a cowl in one country, a crosier in another, and a grave in a third ; neither bred where born, nor beneficed where bred, nor buried where beneficed ; but wandering in several kingdoms, that the Gospel might thereby be further and faster propagated. When there be many guests and little meat, the same dish must go clean through the board ; and Divine providence ordered it, that, in the scarcity of preachers, one eminent man, travelling far, should successively feed many countries." From the first arrival of the Saxons into Britain to the time when they established a permanent settlement in it, during a period of a century and a half, the following kingdoms were founded : 1 . Kent, consisting of the present county of that name, a.d. 457. 2. Sussex, the present county, a.d. 491. 3. Wessex, including Surrey, Hants with the Isle of Wight, Berks, Wilts, Dorset, Somerset, Devon, and part of Cornwall, A.D. 519. 4. Essex, including the present coimties of Essex and Middle- sex, and the southern part of Hertfordshire, a.d. 527. 5. Northum- bria, consisting of the sometimes separate, but commonly united states of Bernicia and Deira, the former including Northumberland, and the south eastern counties of Scotland, a.d. 547; the latter, Cumberland, Durham, Westmoreland, York, and Lancaster, a.d. 560. 6. East Anglia, including Norfolk, Suffolk, Cambridge, and part of Bedfordshire, a.d. 571. 7. Mer- 148 KELIGION OF THE ANGLO-SAXONS. cia, including Chester, Derby, Nottingham, Lincohi, Shropshire, Stafford, Leicester, Rutland, Northampton, Huntingdon, Hereford, Worcester, War- Avick, Gloucester, Oxforct, Buckingham, and parts of Hertford and Bedford, A.D. 585. This assemblage of states has been commonly called the He^itar- chy, for which Mr. Turner has proposed to substitute the Octarchy, on the ground that Deira and Bernicia ought to be considered as two distinct king- doms. It has been asserted that this republic of states was moderated by the controlling authority of one supreme king, to whom Bede and the Saxon Chronicle have attributed the title of Bretwalda, or Emperor of Britain ; but this title, if ever assumed, was the effect, not of law, but of conquest. Ethelbert, who was king of Kent before 568, is supposed to have been acknowledged as Bretwalda from 589 till his death in 616. The religion of the Anglo-Saxons, in general, was evidently a com- pound of the worship of the celestial bodies, or Sabceism, as it is termed, and of hero worship. They appear to have been a fierce, ambitious, and barbarous people, and utter strangers to the very names of the sciences and liberal arts. When they first landed in this country, they seem not so much as to have known the use of letters, but to have borrowed their first alphabet from the Irish. They retained some faint reminiscences of the truths revealed or shadowed to the patriarchs ; possibly the week of seven days, as used by them, may be considered as one of these vestiges. In Britain, especially in Deira, the Angles appear to have vmited their own idolatry to the ministration of a druidical hierarchy. Yet these very idol- aters St. Augvistine and his fellow-labourers subdued to the faith of Christ, and rendered them mild, humble, and patient, despisers of all earthly good, and in fervour and sanctity surpassing all the nations of the earth. Whilst the Jutes, the Angles, and the Saxons, were establishing their temporal dominion in Britain, it appears that St. Gregory the Great was cherishing the hope of preaching the Gospel to these idolatrous people. For, on one occasion, when he was archdeacon of Rome, it chanced that he passed through the market-place of that city, where he beheld exposed for sale several fair and beautiful children, with ruddy cheeks and blue eyes, and their fine yellow tresses flowing in long curls upon their shoulders. St. Gregory asked. From what country or nation they were brought? and was told, from the island of Britain, whose inhabitants were of such personal appearance. He again inquired, Whether those islanders were Christians, or still involved in the errors of Paganism r and was infornipil ST. GREGOKY AND THE ENGI-ISH SLAVES. 149 that they were Pagans. Then fetching a deep sigh from the bottom of his heart, " Alas ! what pity," said he, " that the author of darkness is possessed of men of such fair countenances ; and that being remarkable for such graceful aspects, their minds should be void of inward grace." He therefore again asked. What was the name of that nation ? and was answered, that they were called Angles. " Right," said he, "for they have an angelic face, and it becomes such to be co-heirs with the angels in heaven. What is the name," proceeded he, " of the province from which they are brought?" It was replied, that the natives of that province were called Deira. "Truly are they De ira,'''' said he, "withdrawn from wrath, and called to the mercy of Christ." How is the king of that province called ? They told him his name was ^lla ; and he, alluding to the name, said, " Allelujah, the praise of God the Creator must be sung in those parts." •" This conversation may appear trifling ; but it was destined to produce the most important results. St. Gregory immediately resolved on under- taking a mission to Britain, with the permission of Benedict the First, then bishop of Rome, and had even privately commenced his journey in company with several monks of his own monastery. Imi^ediments arose which prevented him personally from carrying this design into effect, but the impression continued firm in his mind. On his elevation to the bishopric of that see, he ordered a Gallic priest of the name of Candidus to purchase some British youths to be educated as missionaries for their native land. But his ardent mind would not suffer him to adopt this tedious measure : he looked about him for a man of zeal, resolution, and piety — and such a one he found in Augustine, the prior of St. Gregory's monastery, dedicated to St. Andrew in Rome. We have thus brought the history of the British Church within a few- years of the arrival of St. Augustine, the missionary of St. Gregory, bishop of Rome. This event forms an important epoch in the history of our country ; and as the circumstances connected with it have been so often misrepresented by many writers of our ecclesiastical history, it will be needful to set the matter in its true light, and, without lessening the devoted piety of the prelate who filled that chair, to give the concurrent causes the just honour they had in the conversion of the Anglo-Saxon nation. Neither St. Gregory himself, nor St. Augustine his missionary, appear td have been influenced by any other than a tridy Christian spirit in their " Bcdc, Ecdfs. Hist, hook ii, ch. 1. 150 CONVERSION OV THE ANGLO-SAXONS. endeavours to diffuse to a greater extent the blessings of the Gospel throughout this country ; and that too at a time when the Roman Church was a sound and uncorrupt branch of the Catholic Church — when it taught no other doctrine, and imposed no other article of faith, than had been delivered down from the first ages of Christianity. For want of a more perfect acquaintance with the ecclesiastical affairs of Christendom at this period, many are disposed to disparage the benefits we derived from the church of Rome, and the assistance afforded by St. Gregory in the conversion of the Anglo-Saxons. This has occasioned some to seek any refuge rather than to own our obligations to the pious and devoted prelate, whose labours were so abundantly prospered on his arrival in this country ; as if this event involved us in all the corruptions which subsequently infected the Roman church. Besides, we learn from authentic history, that irrespective of the mission of St. Augustine, there was at this time a jvmcture of many outward causes, which woidd ultimately have effected the conversion of the Anglo-Saxons. At this period Kent was governed by Ethelbert, a monarch of great power and ability, who had compelled the other sovereigns of the island, whether Britons or Anglo-Saxons, to acknowledge him as their superior. Alford, the Romish Church writer, confesses it to be very probable that Irmiric, the father of Ethelbert, permitted the Christian religion to be professed in his kingdom. Ethelbert, we find, married a princess named Bertha, the daughter of Charibert, king of Paris. This lady was a Christian ; and by permission of her husband, she had caused a deserted church, built by the Romans in the neighbourhood of Canterbury (St. Martin's), to be repaired and fitted up for Divine service. She was accompanied by the bishop of Senlis, of the name of Luidhard, who preached in the church of St. Martin, for thirty years previous to the arrival of Augustine, and whose saintly deportment reflected a lustre on the faith which he professed. It would appear, from the humanity and kindness with which St. Augustine was received immediately on his arrival, that Bishop Luidhard was his precursor, and opened a way for his success ; and that the piety and prayers of Queen Bertha herself are not likely to have been without their effect in causing Ethelbert to lend an attentive ear to the preaching of St. Augustine. From the epistles of Gregory to Theodorick and Theodebert, kings of the Franks, it is evident too that the Saxons were not only desirous to receive the Christian faith, but had also signified their desire to the clergy of CONVERSION OF THE ANGLO-SAXONS. 151 France ; and moreover it is the French clergy that Gregory blames, for the neglect of the Christian offices they had entreated from him. " We are informed," says he, " that through the mercy of God, the English nation is desirous to turn Christian ; but the clergy of your nation, notwithstanding their neighbourhood, refuse to assist them in their good motions, and encourage their piety."*' And in his letter to Queen Brunichild, he further states, " That the English were willing to forsake paganism, and enter the church ; but that the French clergy evinced a want of Christian compassion, and took no care to encourage that people in their good dispositions."! It is evident, that this pious inclination in the Saxons must have proceeded from the influence and example of the British Christians who resided among them ; and that this fact had come to the knowledge of St. Gregory, in all probability by means of Queen Bertha. Another circumstance which prepared the way for the conversion of the English Saxons, was the diffusion of the Gospel among the Franks, the Goths, the Vandals, and the rest of the Northern people, who had planted themselves in Gaul, Italy, and Spain. As for those British Christians who inhabited Wales, they had, as we have shown, their diocesan bishops, under one metropolitan ; and we subsequently find that no fewer than seven of their prelates appeared at the second conference with St. Augustine. And although Baronius has the assurance to pronounce these Bishops guilty of schism, he allows their government to have been regular, and their faith orthodox. And yet both St. Augustine and his successors, by making the submission of the Britons to their authority, as metropolitans, the primary article of communion, leave it beyond doubt that they were fully satisfied of the purity of their doctrine, if not with the canonical succession of their bishops. The Britons of Wales too were not so remote from Rome as their brethren of Scotland, yet they persisted more obstinately in their independence, and are described by Bede, in his own time, as celebrating the Passover contrary to the custom of the Roman Church. X It is a satisfaction to find, however, that the historian does not charge them with errors of doctrine. Such too was the state of the Irish Church, whose faith and discipline were the same as that of the British, and between whom there existed a reciprocal friendship and communion. The only difference between them was, that the Irish escaped the confusion which at this time afflicted the British church. Both * Epist. lib. V. c. 58. f Ibid. c. 159. Easter controversy will be found in the X Some historical notices respecting the Appendix, No. VII. 152 ARMORIf'A. communions successfully laboured in restoring Christianity in various parts of the island, and were instrumental in the conversion of those very men, whose fathers had massacred their ancestors, and who had laid waste their country and their holy places. For, as Bede observes, Columbu came from Ireland about the year 565, and converted the Picts inhabiting the northern parts of Britain ; as for the Southern Picts, they had been converted long before by Ninian, a British bishop. Theonus, archbishop of London, and Tadiacus, archbishop of York, did not quit their sees, and retire westward from the fury of their persecutors, till a.r. 586, only ten years before the arrival of St. Augustine. On the extinction of the British hierarchy by the invasion of the Saxons, many of the Christians found a refuge in Armorica, or Brittany, both countries having for two centuries before maintained a mutual and international friendship. The first recorded emigration of Britons into that province took place imder Maximus, who assigned the government of Armorica to Conan, a chieftain from the south of Caledonia. The district which they peopled received, and yet retains, the name of Brittany, and the resemblance of the colony to its parent-land, long continued to distinguish it from the neighbouring provinces. In the middle of the fifth century, owing to the incursions of the Picts, thousands of Britons crossed the channel, and sought a refuge among their countrymen in Armorica. The third emigration took place at several intervals dimng the Saxon invasion. The Christian religion was early propagated in Armorica : Toiirs was the capital, and still maintains the mctropolitical dignity. In Sirmondus's Gallican Councils mention is made of Mansuetus, a bishop of the Britons, as subscribing to the first council at Tours, a.d. 461. Bishops of Dole, Quimper, and Vannes, are recorded at the end of the foul-th century, and the old annals of the country have preserved the memory of numerous saints, whose Celtic names are like known to their brethren in the faith. In the year 557, a prelate of the name of Sampson, said to be a native of Glamorganshire, was bishop of Tours, and subscribed the decrees of the Council of Paris, a. d. 557. Ten years after another council was held at Tours, in which the archbishop of that place was acknowledged to be the metropolitan ; and it was further decreed, that no one should presume to ordain either a Briton or a Roman to the office of a bishop in Armorica, Avithout the consent and permission of the metropolitan or the other bishops of the province. CHAPTER XIV. MISSION OF ST. AUGUSTINE HIS INTERVIEW WITH ETIIELBEKT CONSECRATED BISHOP OF THE ENGLISH— HIS CONFERENCE WITH THE BRITISH BISHOPS, WHO REFUSE SUBMISSION TO HIM BANGORIAN SLAUGHTER LAURENTIUS— CONVER- SION OF THE SAXONS, AND ORGANIZATION OF THE ENGLISH CHURCH WHITBY CONFERENCE — THE TONSURE CONCLUSION. On July 23, 596, St. Gregory despatched St. Augustine on his mission to England, accompanied by thirty companions ; and they set out with joy upon an expedition, of which the prize was to be either the conquest of a new nation to Christ, or the crown of martyrdom for themselves. St. Augustine and his company having proceeded on their journey for several days, probably as far as Aix in Provence, were apprised of "the ferocity of the English people, the difference of manners, the difficulty of the languao-e, and the dangers of the sea ; consequently they felt some discouragement in the undertaking, and wished to relinquish their object. Accordingly they despatched St. Augustine back to Rome, to obtain St. Gregory's leave for their return ; vvho soon after joined them again with the following letter of encouragement : — " Gregoky, the servant of those that seme God ; greeting, ^c. " Since it were better not to enter upon a worthy design, than to break off that which is commendably begun : for this reason, my dear sons, you ought to exert yourselves to the utmost to finish that great work, in which, by the grace of God, you have engaged. Do not let the fatigue of the voyage, nor the censures of evil men, discourage you ; but press forward in your business with all the zeal and application imaginable ; being well assured, that the troublesomeness of the employment will be rewarded with eternal glory in heaven. I have sent Augustine back to you, and made him your abbot, requiring you to suLmit entirely to his directions, for I know he will enjoin you nothing but what is serviceable to your best interest. God Almighty take you into his protection, and gi-ant that I may see the success X 154 ST. AUGUSTXNK S ARKIVAl, IN KKNT. of your labours, even after I am dead. For although my circumstances will not permit me to go with you, and bear a part in the fatigue, yet I hope, afterwards, to have a share in the reward, because I want no inclination to engage. God Almighty have you in his good keeping, my most beloved sons. Dated the tenth of the Calends of August, in the fourteenth year of our Sovereign Lord Mauritius Tiberius, kc."* Gregory also wi-ote letters to Vergilius, archbishop of Aries, Etherius, archbishop of Lyons, and to the king and queen of the Franks,f to assist the missionaries with every thing needful in their expedition, and informing them that the English Saxons were desirous of becoming Christians ; by means of which they were everywhere entertained with respect, and even furnished with interpreters. :]: Augustine and his companions having passed through France, em- barked at Ebbsfeet, in the Isle of Thanet, whence they sent messengers to Ethelbert, king of Kent, to inform him that they were come from Rome, and soliciting an interview. The territories of Ethelbert were probably selected for the first efforts of these missionaries, because his queen Bertha was a Christian; and by the articles of her marriage (as early as A. D. 570) had the free exercise of her religion allowed her. Ethelbert appointed Augustine a day when he and his companions should appear before him ; upon which the king received them in the open air, fearing that they being strangers, might exercise some enchantment during the interview, or gain some advantage over him. had he admitted them within his palace or other building. Augustine and his companions proceeded to the appointed place, and advanced in slow procession towards the king and the queen, chanting the litany, and carrying with them a large silver cross, together with a picture of our Saviour, and praying earnestly for the Divine protection. Seats had been prepared for them ; and at the command of the king, they preached to him and his nobles the word of life. " They told,'" says an old Saxon * Bedc, Ecdcs. Hist. lib. i. c. 2.3. llliiuc and tbe Elbe, and al)out Holstein, on f Those letters will be found in Samnies' the continent of Donmark, still called Jutland. Antiquities of Britain, pji. 479 — 497. Hence the French and English both had the J The Franks and English Saxons were same language, as bishop Godwin observes from equally German nations; the former came l.'iO this circumstance. This is confirmed by other years earlier from beyond the Rhine; the latter clear proofs by the learned William Howel, in from the countries about tlie mouths of the his Institution of General History. ST. augusxine"s interview with exhelbeut. 155 author, "liow the mild-hearted Healer of mankind, by his own throes of suffering, set free this guilty middle-earth, and opened to believing men the door of heaven." Ethelbert's answer was both manly and sensible, and would not have disgraced the most enlightened philosopher : " Your words and promises are very fair, but as they are new to us, and of uncertain import, I cannot forsake the established customs of my nation. But because you have come from far into my kingdom, and as I conceive, are desirous to impart to us those things which you believe to be true, and most beneficial, we will not molest you, but give you favourable entertainment, and take care to supply you with your necessary sustenance ; nor do we forbid you by preaching to gain as many as you can to your religion."" This favourable answer filled them with joy, and they proceeded to Canterbury, where a residence had been appointed them, walking two by two, chanting aloud, as with one voice, " We beseech thee, O Lord, of thy mercy, let thy wrath and anger be turned away from this city, and from thy holy place ; for we have sinned. Hallelujah." These missionaries now betook themselves to prayer and fasting, preaching jointly with the French Christians of the suite of queen Bertha, in the church of St. Martin. They were limited to this spot till the conver- sion and baptism of the king, after which they had license to preach in any part of his dominions, which Bede assures us, extended probably over tributary kingdoms, as far as the river Humber. The final conversion of Ethelbert speedily folloAved, who sought at the hands of the missionaries the holy sacrament of baptism ; and his long reflection and deliberation on the subject afforded good hope of his sincerity. "Within a short period, all the inhabitants of Kent were convinced of their folly in worshipping Thor and Woden, the idols of their ancestors, and so earnestly did they listen to St. Augustine, that thousands were baptized, and made open profession of Christianity. With St. Augustine, it is recorded, that St. Gregory sent the following books : — a Bible in two vols. ; a Psalter, and a book of the Gospels ; a book of Martyrology ; Apocryphal lives of the Apostles ; and expositions of certain Epistles and Gospels. The Canterbury Book, in the library of Trinity Hall, Cambridge, closes the brief catalogue in these expressive words : " These are the foundation, or beginning, of the library of the whole English church, a.d. 601.''* * See Wankv's Catalogue of Saxon manuFcn[its at tiie end uf Dr. Hickts's Thesaurus, ii. 17:?. 166 CONSECRATION OF ST. AUGUSTINE. In 597, St. AufTustine, by direction of St. Gregory, went over to Aries,*'' in France, where he was consecrated archbishop by "S^ergilius, pri- mate of that place. He was not consecrated as archbishop either of Lon- don or Canterbury, but by the general title of the " Bishop of the English," (Anglorum Episcopus,) that he might be at liberty to fix his seat in what- ever part of the country he pleased.f Upon his return to this country, Augustine sent Laurence and Peter to acquaint Gregory with his ordination, and to desire his solution of certain questions, which Bede (lib. i. c. 27) has given at length in the form of interrogations and answers, and from which may be obtained some information respecting the early constitution of the church. To his inquiries concerning the maintenance of the clergy, Gre- gory answered that the donations made to the church, were, by the custom of the Roman see, divided into four portions ; one for the bishop and his family to support hospitality, a second to the clergy, a third to the poor, and a fourth to the reparation of churches. As the jiastors were all monks, they were to live in common ; but such as chose to marry were to be main- tained by the monastery. With respect to diversities of customs and litur- gies, Gregory's answer was truly liberal, implying that Augustine was not bound to follow the precedent of Rome, but might select whatever parts or rules appeared the most eligible or Jaest adapted to promote the piety of the church of England, and might compose them into a system for its use. There is one question, however, deserving especial notice, on which Augustine requests Gregory to inform him, " How he ought to deal with the bishops of Gaul and Britain?'" To which Gregory replies, "We give thee no authority over the bishops of Gaul, because the bishop of Aries received the pall in ancient times from my predecessor, and we are not to deprive him of the authority he has received." St. Gregory then goes on to say, that if St. Augustine shoidd visit Gaul, and find any thing that ought to be amended, he was not at liberty to sit in judgment u^jon them, but by persuasion and example to invite them to obedience. He then quotes Deut. xxiii. 25, adding, " For it is written in the law, ' When thou comest into the standing corn of thy neighbour, then thou mayest pluck the ears * This citj- is situated in the extreme south Rome, apprehensive that the archbishop oi of France, not far from the Mediterranean. Arks might elevate himself into a patriarch Early in the fifth cei;tarj-, the emperor Honor- of the whole kingdom, appointed him his apos- ius erected the city of Aries into a metropolis tolic vicar in Giuil. over seven of the sixteen provinces into which j Parkf-r, Aiitit). Britar.. London, ir.'!'. Caul nas ,Tt that fimr di\i(Ud: llie hislirp ot' p 18. ST. gregoky's protest against the supkejiacy. 157 with thine hand ; but thou shalt not move a sickle unto thy neighbour's standing corn." For thou mayest not apply the sickle of judgment in that harvest, which seems to have been committed to another ; but by the effect of good works thou shalt clear the Lord's wheat of the chaff of their vices, and convert them into the body of the chorch, as it were, by eating. But whatsoever is to be done by authority, must be transacted with the aforesaid bishop of Aries, lest that should be omitted, which the ancient institution of the fathers has appointed."' -•' St. Gregory then adds, "But as for all the bishops of Britain, we commit them to your care, that the unlearned may be taught, the weak strengthened by persuasion, and the perverse corrected by authority.'"! It may be difficult, at the present time, to decide how far this jurisdiction over the British bishops was to extend ; whether, as is supposed by some, it was intended to bring them into subjection to the see of Rome ; or, which appears more probable, that St. Augustine was to exercise a metropolitical authority over them. That the bishops of Rome were not the first to originate the idea of universal episcopacy is evident from the writings of St. Gregory still extant ; for at the end of the sixth century it began to be assumed by John, bishop of Constantinople, after the seat of the Empire had been removed to that place. The same pompous epithet of " Universal Bishop,"' was afterwards claimed by Cyriacus, his successor in that see ; which drew from St. Gregory a severe jDrotest against the use of that arrogant title. " Far, very far," he says, " be it from a Christian mind, that any person should wish to snatch to himself a title whence he may seem, even in any the very smallest degree, to diminish the honour of his brethren. To consent to the adoption of that wicked appellation, is nothing less than to apostatize from the faith." Again, he says, " I tell you confidently, that whosoever calls himself, or wishes to be called, Universal Priest, does, in his self-exaltation, anticipate antichrist, because through his ■pride, he exalts himself above his fellows."^ On the other hand, as patriarch of Rome, invested from apostolic times with a privilege of eminence over a portion of the Western chui-ches, it was natural that St. Gregory should claim for St. Augustine some consideration * St. Gregory probably alludes to the third Benedictine editors ; but the entire letter has oecumenical council, held at Epliesu?, A. D. 431. been omitted in the Vatican copy. In the t Bede, Ecclcs. Hist. lib. i. c. 27. Appendix (No. VIII.) will be found some X This passaffc has been retained l>y the additional extracts from St. Gregory's Epistles. 158 THE PKIMACV OF ST. AUGUSTINE. and respect, and that the present ch'cumstances of national affairs was a cogent reason with him for altering the metropolitical jurisdiction of this island. A new state of society was now being organized, new kingdoms were being founded, and the whole political and civil affairs undergoing a change. The Saxons, by conquest, had now obtained a prescript right by the law of nations to the territory they occupied. When Theonus quitted the see of London and Tadiacus that of York in the year 586, they virtually resigned their spiritual jurisdiction in those parts ; and the secular clergy had proved unable to accomplish the conversion of the inhabitants for want of union and organization. In after times none of the bishops of the various episcopal sees, especially of that part since distinguished by the name of England, asserted a descent from the ancient British prelates, except the monks who watched the tomb of Arthur in the fabled Isle of Avalon, and whose legends exhibit a strange and mysterious union of mythology, devotion, and romance.*' The British hierarchy, in fact, now ceased to have any recognized existence among the mixed inhabitants of the subjugated realms. The ecclesiastical government was destroyed with the national independence ; the chieftains of the British race either fled or perished in the field ; and the island, from the Frith of Forth to the shore of the Channel, became the inheritance of the German colonists, Avho caused their own language, customs, and laws, to become paramount in Britain. Soon after the consecration of St. Augustine, Ethelbert was anxious to afford him and his companions the means of celebrating divine worship with decency and solemnity, for which purpose he surrendered to them his own palace, and retired himself to the city of Reculver. He repaired a ruined church, originally built by the Britons, and re-dedicated it in honour of "• the holy Saviour Jesus Christ," and there established a residence for himself and his clergy. This church is now the cathedral of Canterbviry ; but the present structure, although ancient, is of date long subsequent to the age of St. Augustine. Still the cathedral retains its original consecration ; and venerable as the fabric appears to the eye, it acquires a greater title to our respect, when we recollect how long the spot has been hallowed by the worship of the Lord. A new monastery was raised by Ethelbert Avithout * Stc Chariir of lli'ii. II. piintcd by Ik'Hinc. CONFEKENCE WITH ,THE BRITISH BISHOPS. 159 the walls, dedicated to St. Peter and St. Paul, and since called St. Augus- tine's abbey.* In the year 601, St. Gregory sent over Mellitus, Paulinus, Rufinianus, and others, and conferred the pall upon St. Augustine, directing him to establish two metropolitical sees, one at London, and the other at York. Sebert, the nephew of Ethelbert, at this time reigned in Essex, and through the influence of his uncle received the sacrament of baptism : London being the capital of his petty state, was selected for the see of Mellitus. The cathedral was built in honoiir of the great apostle of the Gentiles, upon a rising ground, where, under the Romans, a temple of Diana had stood. In 604, the see of Rochester was founded, when Justus, a learned and worthy man, was appointed bishop by St. Augustine. Nothing was done for York till the year 623, when Edilburga, a Christian lady, and sister to Eadbald, king of Kent, being married to Edwin, king of Northumberland, and taking Paulinus with her, the latter was consecrated archbishop of York by Jvistus, archbishop of Canterbury, July 25, 625. The labours of St. Augustine proving so successful in Kent, and in other parts of the island, he sought for an interview with the bishops of Wales. For this purpose a conference was convened a. d. 603, at a ^^lace called by Bede Augustine's Ac, or Augustine's Oak, on the borders of the Wiccii and West Saxons. f The archbishop employed both entreaties and exhortations to persuade them to enter into a catholic peace with himself, adopt the same ecclesiastical customs, and assist him in preaching to the unconverted Saxons. The Britons, however, declared that they could not renounce their ancient customs without the permission of their brethren, and requested that another meeting shovdd be convened. At the second conference there were seven British bishops present, probably from Llandaff, Hereford, Llanbadarn, Bangor, St. Asajih, Worces- ter, and Margam, and a considerable number of their most learned men from the monastery of Bangor-Iscoed, with Dinooth, their abbot. Previous * It is gratifying to find that this venerable with a view to the establishment of a college pile, and that portion of the precincts known for the reception and education of young men as " The Old Palace," have been recently pur- in the principlts of the church, preparatory to chased by A. J. B. Hope, Esq., IM.P. who has their being sent forth as missionaries among the thus rescued from future desecration the spot heathen. sanctified by the labours and prayers of the "j" Probably near Aust, or Austcliffe, in Glou- early English Chiistians. The munificent pur- cestershirc, the usual ferry over the Severn into chafer has presented the ground to the church, Wales. 160 rONFERENCK WITH THK RIllTISIi BJSHOPS. to the meeting the Britons consulted an anchorite renowned for his piety and wisdom. He answered, " If Augustine be a man of God, follow him." They stated the difficulty of ascertaining his character. He replied, " The Lord hath said, Take my yoke upon you and learn of me, for I am meek and lowly in heart. If, therefore Augustine is meek and lowly in heart, it is to be expected, that because he bears himself the yoke of Christ, he will offer it to be borne by you ; but if he is not meek but proud, it is clear that he is not of God, his speech is not to be regarded by us." They said again, "And whence shall we discover this also?" He said, "Contrive that he come first with his friends to the place of the synod ; and if he shall rise when you approach, hearken to him obediently, knowing that he is the ser- vant of Christ ; but if he shall despise you, and be not willing to rise in your presence when you are more in number, then let him be despised by you." They obeyed his advice. St. Augustine first entered the place of conference, says archbishop Parker, with the standard of his apostleship, a silver cross — the litany and the canticles being sung in procession, and various appendages peculiar to the Roman ceremonial. The Britons, upon their arrival, found St. Augustine seated in his chair, which when they saw, says Bede, they became enraged, and reflecting on his ^^ride, determined to oppose him in all that he might advance. His address to them was to this effect : " Seeing in many things ye act contrary to our custom, and even to that of the universal church, yet if ye will obey me in these three points — that ye celebrate Easter at its 2^1'oper time ; that ye complete the service of baptism (by which we are born again unto God,) after the manner of the holy Roman and apostolic church, and that ye preach the word of God in conjunction with us to the Anglo-Saxons— all other things, which ye do, although contrary to our customs, we will bear them all with patience." Dinooth, in the name of his brethren, rose and made the following reply : — " Be it known, and without doubt, unto you, that we all are, and every one of us, obedient subjects to the church of God, and to the bishop of Rome, and to every godly Christian, to love every one in his degree in perfect charity, and to help every one of them by word and deed, to be the children of God : and other obedience than this we do not know to be due to him whom you name to be pope, nor to be the father of fathers, to be claimed and to be demanded, and this obedience we are ready to give, and to pay to him and to every Christian continually. Besides we are under the government of the bishop of Caerleon-upon-Usk. who is under God, ap- CONFEKENCE AVITH THE BETTISH BISHOPS. 161 pointed to superintend us. and to cause us to continue in the spiritual way."'* It will be perceived from the above description of this memorable con- troversy, that the points in dispute regarded only discipline, ritual, and ecclesiastical government, for no difference in doctrine is mentioned ; and if any had existed to a material degree, St. Augustine would not have desired them to join him in preaching to the Saxons. Bede is not explicit as to the reasons why the Britons refused to accept him for their archbishop, nor does it appear how this point was introduced to their consideration ; but the differences in discipline and ritual are a proof that they had not previously acknowledged the jurisdiction of the Roman see. No fact is more clearly asserted than that the Britons were not in subjection to that church, for it is repeated throughout the ecclesiastical history of Bede. The heaviest im- putation upon the British churches is, that they suffered their Saxon neigh- bours to continue so long in Paganism, without making any effort for their conversion. But the subject is one of unaffected embarrassment, and for want of more authentic documents is surrounded with difficulties. Valu- able as is the ecclesiastical history of the venerable Bede, still his affections were enlisted in favour of the Anglo-Saxon church ; as but for that church he doubtless felt that in all probability he might have lived and died in ignorance of the gospel of Jesus Christ. His religious as well as his national prejudices led him to look with a jealous eye on all matters relating to the ancient British Church, consequently he has furnished an extremely meagre account of its affairs. Leland observes, " that the British writers give a more ample account of St. Augustine's conference with the British bishops than is extant in Bede ; that Dinooth did at large dispute * The reply of Dinooth was copied by Sir Caerleon, the metropolitical authority having Henry Spehnan from an ancient British MS. been translated to Menevia. The migratory na- belonging to Mr. Peter Mostin, a Welsh gentle- ture, however, of the primacy in the Cambrian man. Its authenticity has been questioned by church at this time has already been noticed Turbeville (Manual of Conferences, p. 460), Dr. (ch. xi. p. 116); where it is shown that the Hauavden (Preface to Church of Christ showed, clergy of Wales frequently denominated the t. 2, p. 20), and by Dr. Iiingard (Hist of Anglo- primacy after the name of the ancient see of Sa.xons, i. 71). It is urged against this docu- Caerleon. And that this continued to be the ment that its style is too modern ; but Spelman case for six hundred years after the reply of states, that in his opinion it had been translated Dinooth, appears from the catalogue furnished from the original protest, which was probably in by Giraldus, (a. D. 1200) which mentions twcn- Latin. Another objection to its authenticit3-, ty-five archbishops of Caerleon (from St. David is its supposed anachronism respecting the .see of to Sampson) snccessively resident at St. David's. 162 ST. AUGUSTINE AND THE BRITISH BISHOPS. with great learning and gravity against receiving the authority of St. Augustine ; and defended the jurisdiction of the archbishop of St. David's ; and affirmed it not to be for the British interest to own either Roman pride, or the Saxon tyranny."* One of the principal reasons assigned for the refusal of the British bishops to comply with St. Augustine's proposals, is, that his terms were demanded — not as conditions of Christian communion — but as marks of submission and inferiority ; and they probably inferred this to be his inten- tion from his demeanour before them. Without maintaining that either St. Gregory or St. Augustine wished to subject the British bishops to the see of Rome, farther than to impose its usages in the administration of baptism, and in the observance of the new cycle for regulating Easter, it appears probable that they were unwilling to recognize the canonical consecration of their prelates, being desirous to bring them under the jurisdiction of Can- terbury ; in the same way as the Saxon kings were intent upon Avresting the supreme civil power from the princes of Wales. For we learn from Bede, that St. Gregory permitted St. Augustine, contrary to the canons in ordinary cases, to ordain suffragans without any assisting bishops, unless by chance he could obtain them from Gaul ; thus apparently refusing to recognize the orders of the Cambrian bishops. f This may be farther presumed from the conduct of Theodore in the year 668, in reconsecrating Chad, bishop of the Mercians, who had been previously consecrated by Wini, bishop of the West Saxons, assisted by two British bishops. Wilfrid, archbishop of York, too, undertook a journey to Gaul, rather than be consecrated by the Welsh prelates. St. Augustine being disappointed at this conference, is said to have menaced the Britons at his departure. He told them, " that if they would not accept of peace from their brethren, they must expect war from their enemies ; and if they would not preach the Word of life to the Saxons, they should suffer death by their hands."' Immediately after his account of it, Bede adds, that Ethelfrid, king of Northumbria, gathered a great army, and attacked the Britons in the vicinity of Chester. On the field of battle were 1,200 of the British clergy, totally unarmed, for the purpose of encouraging, by their prayers and exhortations, the spirits of their brave defenders. Ethelfrid, on beholding the British priests, inquired who they were, and what they were doing. On being informed of the reason of their * De Script, in Diiiooth. f Bede, Eccics. Hist. iil). i. c. 27. THE BANGORIAN SLAUGHTER. 163 coming, he exclaimed, " If they call upon God against us, though they bear not arms, yet they fight against us, who persecute us with their impreca- tions." And ordering his forces to be directed first against them, he after- wards overthrew the British army, yet not without great loss on his own side. Whether St. Augustine was the instigator of this massacre has been much controverted by ecclesiastical writers : some persisting that he not only predicted their destruction, but actually lived to see it accomplished : others, which seems more probable, altogether deny this assertion, and insist that he had departed this life previously to the expedition of Ethel- frid, and the destruction of the British clergy. Bede closes his account of it with these words — " Thus was fulfilled the prediction of the holy bishop Augustine, though he himself had been long before taken up into the hea- venly kingdom." The most probable date of the two conferences (for both are believed to have been held in the same year) is 603. St. Augustine died in 605 ; and the battle of Chester, or as the Welsh have named it, " the battle of the orchard of Bangor," appears to have been fought in 607, or as some accounts say, 613. The destruction of the monastery of Bangor Iscoed followed the massacre of its members, and the calamity must have Tjaused a great diminution in the number of the British clergy. Nicholas Trivet, who wrote a Chronicle in Norman French, states, that the innocent blood of the Bangor monks Avas not long unrevenged ; for three British princes, Blederick, prince of Cornwall, Margaduc, prince of South Wales, and Cadwan, prince of North Wales, engaged the Northumbrians as they were invading Wales, and not only wounded Ethelfrid, but slew ten thou- sand and sixty of his soldiers.* St. Augustine was succeeded by Laurentius in the see of Canterbury, who also endeavoured to persuade the Britons and Scots to observe Easter according to the Roman custom. Bede says, " He not only took care of the new church formed among the English, but endeavoured also to employ his pastoral solicitude among the ancient inhabitants of Britain, as also the Scots, who inhabit the island of Ireland, which is next to Britain. For when he imderstood that the course of life and profession of the Scots in their aforesaid country, as well as of the Britons in Britain, was not truly ecclesiastical, especially that they did not celebrate the solemnity of Easter at the due time, but thought that the day of the resurrection of our Lord was, as has been said above, to be celebrated between the 14th and the * Quoted in Spclman, Concil. i. 112. 164 LAUKENXIUS, ARCHBISHOP 0¥ CANTERBURY. 20th of the moon : he wrote, jointly with his fellow-bishops, an exhortatory epistle, entreating and conjuring them to observe unity of peace, and con- formity with the church of Christ spread throughout the world. The beginning of epistle is as follows : — " ' To our most dear brothers, the lords bishops or abbots throughout all Scotland, Laurentius, Mellitus, and Justus, servants of the servants of God : When the apostolic see, according to the universal custom which it has fol- lowed elsewhere, sent us to these western parts to preach to Pagan nations, we came into this island, which is called Britain, without possessing any previous knowledge of its mhabitants. We held both the Britons and Scots in great esteem for sanctity, believing that they had proceeded according to the custom of the imiversal church ; but becoming acquainted with the errors of the Britons, we thought the Scots had been better ; but we have been informed by bishop Daganus, coming into this aforesaid island, and the abbot Columbanus in France, that the Scots in no way differ from the Britons in their behaviour ; for bishop Daganus coming to us, not only refused to eat with us, but even to take his repast in the same house where we were entertained.' "" He despatched also similar letters to the British clergy, urging them to a catholic unity. However, his efforts were unavailing, for we find that the British and Irish churches continued inde- pendent for many ages after. Laurentius was succeeded by Mellitus in the year 619, who occupied the see five years ; and in 624 Justus was translated from Rochester to the primacy. In the following year York became once more the see of an archbishop, Paulinus being honoured with that dignity. After much doubt and deliberation, king Edwin embraced Christianity, and he and his nobles received the sacrament of baptism on Easter-day, a.d. 627. The empire of Edwin was more extensive than that of any preceding Bretwalda ; and so inflexible was he in the administration of justice, that, as is attested by Bede, " in his days a woman with a babe at her breast might have travelled over the island without suffering an insult." Many thousands of his sub- jects were baptized by Pavdinus in Yorkshire in the river Swale ; after which, we find him for six and thirty days together, instructing the people of Bernicia, and baptizing them in the river Glen. East Anglia received the Christian faith a.d. 631, through the labours of Felix, a Burgimdian bishop. He received his mission from Honorius, who had been consecrated archbisliop of Canterbury by Paulinus, at Lincoln, during the i)reccding WHIIBV CONFEKENCE. 165 year. Felix was assisted in his missionary labours by Furseus, a native of Ireland. On the death of Edwin, Oswald succeeded to the throne of Northum- bria, with the title of Bretwalda. In his youth, Oswald became an exile in the mountains of Caledonia for seventeen years, where he was baptized ; which led him, soon after his accession, to send to lona for a supply of missionaries. Gorman was the first that came, who being of a morose and rigid disposition, returned to his monastery in disgust : upon which they appointed Aidan, by whose self-denying labours Northumbria soon became evangelized. Aidan received from the king the donation of the isle of Lindisfarne, since called Holy Island, which became the foundation of the bishopric of Durham. He was succeeded in his diocese successively by Finan, Colman, and Tuda, all educated at Zona : the latter was the first to yield the disputed points respecting Easter and the form of the tonsure, iiumediately after the conference of "Whitby had been held. About this time Oswald paid a visit to Kengil, king of Wessex, to demand his daughter in marriage, and assisted by Birinus, a foreign bishop, who had just arrived from Rome, succeeded in converting Kengil, his family, and the principal thanes. Birinus was ajjpointed to the see of Dorchester, near Oxford, a. d. 635, afterwards removed to Winchester. In 664 was held the celebrated conference of Whitby before the kings Oswi and Alcfrid, to settle the disputes between the English and Scottish clergy on the canonical observance of Easter and the form of the eccle- siastical tonsure. Colman and his friends professed to follow St. John the Evangelist, who had observed their method of computing Easter; and which Avas taught them by St. Columba, the apostle of the north. Wilfrid replied, that the agreement of all the churches of Asia, Africa, Egypt, Greece, Gaul Home, Italy, and the rest of the world, ought to have more weight than that of the Picts and Britons in a part of the two remotest islands of the ocean. Oswi terminated the debate by declaring that he should prefer the institu- tion of St. Peter to that of St. Columba. Colman and those who would not comply with the catholic Easter returned to lona, to consult with their friends on the subject ; and were afterwards carefully excluded from the government of the Northumbrian church. St. Cedda, bishop of the East Saxons, who had hitherto followed the Scottish, complied with the Roman method. Every allowance must be made for the tenacity with which the British and Irish Christians held to the customs and laws of their prede- 166 THE TONSURE. cessors ; yet considering that the cause of this clifFerence was not one of doctrine, but arose simply from a defective system of calculation, and from their ignorance of the more correct formulae adopted by the rest of Chris- tendom, it is much to be regretted that Colman and his friends did not con- cede this debated point. Another, but subordinate subject of dispute at this conference was the form of the ecclesiastical tonsure. The Roman clergy shaved the crown of the head, which was surrounded by a circle of hair, supposed to represent the wreath of thorns forced by the cruelty of his persecutors on the temples of the Messiah, and which they pleaded had descended to them from St. Peter. The Scottish priests permitted the hair to grow on the back, and shaved the forepart of the head from ear to ear in the form of a crescent ; which their opponents called in derision, the tonsure of Simon Magus. The tonsure, properly so called, however, does not appear to have been adopted for the first three centuries of the church ; but originated with the earliest professors of the monastic institutions as a distinctive token of their renunciation of the pleasures of the world. Towards the close of the fifth century it began to be considered, both in the Greek and Latin churches, as a necessary rite for admission into the clerical office;* but who were the originators of the circular and semicircular modes is not knoAvn. There was likewise an oriental tonsure called St. PauFs, which consisted in sha\'ing the whole head, and was also used in part of the Western church. Bede does not inform us how this point was decided at the conference at ^^^litby ; but it is probable that the Roman clergy gained the victory. In A.D. 669, Theodore of Tarsus, on the recommendation of Vitalian, bishop of Rome, was appointed to the see of Canterbury, and succeeded more than any of his predecessors in completely organizing the English church. His authority was acknowledged by all the Saxon prelates ; new bishoprics were instituted; synods were held, and uniformity of discip- line was everywhere established. He introduced the Gregorian or Roman chant in divine service, till then unknown in England, except in Kent. Bede says, " Theodore was the first archbishop whom all the English church obeyed." Finding St. Chad in possession of the see of York by virtue of a consecration at Avhich two British bishops had assisted, he pronounced it invalid ; but being struck with his saintly and humble deportment, the archbisho]) completed what he considered defective in his ■* See tlic tcntli canon of .St. Patrick's Synod in the Appendix, No. V. SAXON AND BRITISH CHURCHES. 167 consecration ; and the see of Lichfield at this time being vacant, Wulfhere, king of Mercia, appointed St. Chad to fill it. Theodore was assisted in his zealous labours by Adi-ian, a native of Africa, Avho accompanied him from Rome, and who possessed an extensive acquaintance with profane as well as sacred literature, especially in the Latin and Greek languages ; which made William of Malmesbury to term him, " a fountain of letters and a river of arts." These two foreigners began to teach openly, in conjunction with the Christian faith, the arts and sciences, and the languages of Greece and Rome, and their school at Canterbury Avas so well attended, that when Bede wrote his history, there were still alive some of their scholars, who, as he assures us, were as well versed in Greek and Latin as in their own native tongue. Amongst those who had profited most by Adrian's teaching wKs the celebrated Aldhelm of Sherburn. At the time the venerable Bede flourished, a. D. 731, we find there were seventeen dioceses in Eng^land : Kent East Saxons East Angles West Saxons Mercia 1. Canterbury. 2. Rochester. 3. London. 4. Dummock. 5. Helmer. 6. Winchester. 7. Sherburn. 8. Lichfield. 9. Leicester. Mercia continued South Saxon Northumberland 10. Lindsey. 11. Worcester. 12. Hereford. 13. Selsey. 14. York. 15. Lindisfarne. 16. Hexham. 17. Whitherne. The only remnant of the ancient British church now surviving was in Wales ; where, as long as they continued to maintain their national inde- pendence, they adhered to the ecclesiastical practices of their forefathers. In 755, Elfod, bishop of Bangor, adopted the new cycle for regulating Easter ; the bishops of South Wales, however, refused to comply. From a Greek Life of St. Chrysostom, it appears that in the middle of the ninth century, " certain clergymen who dwelt in the isles of the ocean repaired to Constantinople to inquire of certain ecclesiastical traditions, and the perfect and exact computation of Easter.""* There can be no doubt but that the British isles are here referred to, and that the disputes respecting Easter were not yet laid to rest. * Ussher's Discourse of the Religion of the Irish antl British, ch. x. 168 CONCLUSTOX. Hitherto the British and Saxon churches may be considered as two Christian families, having each a distinct jurisdiction. The first breach in the succession of the former was effected by Dunstan, archbishop of Can- terbury, A.D. 982, who consecrated Gucan bishop of Llandaff. The two churches, however, were ultimately united in the twelfth century, when Henry I. having reduced Wales into a province, by the appointment of Bernard, a Norman, as suffragan bishop of St. David's, brought the whole Cambrian church under the jurisdiction of Canterbury.* Here we must terminate this compendious view of the rise, progress, and political struggles of the ancient British church. As a portion of Christ's inheritance, planted here in apostolical times, she needs not shim examina- tion, being built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone. When her claims are investi- gated with an unprejudiced mind, and not through the mists of ignorance and sectarianism, she is seen to be an independent branch of the Holy Catholic Church, the true mystical body of Jesus Christ, having his commission, his word, and his sacraments, and subsisting according to the constitution which she received from the apostles of the Lord. Her antiquity is even greater than that of oiu- monarchy, having now run a course of nearly two thousand years, during which time she has had to struggle with enemies numerous, powerful, and subtle ; but though persecuted from without, and for a time obscured within, she has never failed, by virtue of the gift of regeneration which lies hid within her, to stand forward as a witness for o God, and a firm defender of " the faith once delivered to the saints." * See chap. xi. p. 46. APPENDIX. No. I.— Page 18. On St. Peter^s first Visit to Rome. Some contend that St. Peter's first visit to Rome was in the second year of Claudius, A. D. 41, and that he presided over that church for a period of twenty-five years, Eusebius (Eccles. Hist. b. ii. c. 14) says, "In the reign of Claudius, Peter, that powerful and great apostle, was conducted to Rome against that pest of mankind, Simon Magus." Jerome, in his book of Illustrious Men, (cap. i.) ^vrites, that " Simon Peter, prince of the apostles, after his episcopate of the church of Antioch, and his preaching to the faithful of the circumcision dispersed in Pontus, pro- ceeded to Rome in the second year of Claudius to oppose Simon Magus." Isidore, bishop of Seville, a.d. 596, (Sentent. lib. i. c. 18) says, that " the apostle Peter went to Rome in the reign of Claudius to oppose Simon Magus." But he afterwards (lb. 268) places it more correctly under the reign of Nero. The time which these writers assign for St. Peter's first visit to Rome is, however, rejected by most learned men, and e^'en by some of the Roman church, such as Onuphrius apud Bell. ii. 16 ; Valesius in Eusebius, ii. 16 ; Pagi, ann. 43, num. iii ; Baluze, Annot. upon Books respecting Primitive Monuments, ch. ii. See also Lardner's History of Apostles, iii. 180; Burton's Antiquities and Curiosities of Rome; Whitby's Preface to 2 Thessalonians. Moreover, from the Acts of the Apostles and St. Paul's Epistle to the Romans, it appears highly probable that St. Peter had not yet come to Rome; for if he had, why should St. Paul be so desirous to come to them, " that he might impart some spiritual gift to them, to the end they might be established?" And his language (ch. xv. 20) further implies, that no other apostle had been there before him : " yea, so have I strived to preach the gospel, not where Christ was named, lest I should build upon another man's foundation." For the time of St. Peter's coming to Rome no ancient writer is more regarded by learned men than Lactantius, who flourished a short time before Eusebius. He says (De Mort. Persec. cap. 2), that Peter came thither about the beginning of the reign of Nero, twenty years after the ascension, in the fifty- seventh year of the vulgar computation : insomtich that Pagi assents to this account, and has shown it to be altogether improbable that St. Peter came thither in the time of Claudius. He likewise (Critic, in Baron, tmn. 43, num. iii.) notices some diflRculties whicli they are liable to, who suppose that he came 170 APPENDIX, to Rome in the reign of Claudius, and after- wards in that of Nero. The origin of this tradition of St. Peter's visit under Claudian is thus accounted for by Pugi and Baluze : — " It otU be proper here to quote the words of Lactantius : — ' The apostles dimng twenty- five years, until the beginning of Nero's reign, laid the foundations of the church throughout all provinces and states. And when Nero was reigning Peter came to Rome.' From these twenty-five years, which belong to the preach- ing of all the apostles alike, appears to have arisen the opinion of the twenty-five years commonly assigned to St. Peter in the Roman see." — Pagi, ann. 43, n. iii. Baluze says, " Perhaps, therefore, from these twenty-five years which belong equally to the preaching of all the apostles, has arisen the opinion of the twenty-five years which certain of the ancients and an innumerable host of modems have assigned to the apostle Peter in the Roman see. For though I think his coming to the city of Rome is vainly and foolishly denied by some, since it is proved by the clearest testimonies of the ancients ; yet about the time I very much douljt, since I see so many and great difficulties attending the opinion of those who make him come to Rome in the reign of Claudius, that they are forced to give him a two-fold an-ival at the city, and also to split his contest with Simon Magus, into two ; the first in the time of Claudius, and the second in that of Nero ; how absurd all which is, since it is so related by none of the ancients, is easily seen by those skilled in such matters Therefore, if one might be allowed to differ from the com- mon opinion implanted in the minds of men, I should greatly prefer that of Lactantius ; that is, I would readily allow that Peter preached the gospel at Rome, not as is commonly thought under Claudius, but under Nero." — Baluze, Annot. on Books respecting Primitive Momiments, ch. 2. No. II.— Page 23. " The utmost bounds, or extremity of the west.'^ This passage will necessarily include Britain, if we consider what was then meant by " the bounds of the west." The Jews call all those places islands that lie on the sea coast : thus the posterity of Japheth is said to have peo- pled " the islands of the gentiles" (Gen. x. 5.) ; that is, the sea-coasts of Asia and Greece. And it is observable, that generally when the prophet Isaiah foretells the calling of the gentiles, he makes particular mention of " the islands," which many interpreters have looked upon as a plain intimation that Christianity should take deepest root in those parts of the world which were separated from the Jews by the sea, and peopled by the posterity of Japheth, who settled themselves in "the islands of the gentiles." So that "the islands," in the prophetic style, seem particu- larly to denote the western parts, or the Euroiiean nations : the west being called "the sea" in scripture language (see Lowth on Isaiah xi. 11 ; xxiv. 14 ; Ixvi. 19 ; and on Hosea xi. 10.) What then should render the literal sense of Clement's testimony inad- missible ? If it were a solitary testimony, and we had nothing in the early WTiters to ex- plain its meaning, or to countenance the supposition that by "the utmost bounds of APPENDIX. 171 the west" were meant Spain and Britain, we might be content with the single satisfaction that there is nothing in early history which is contradictory to such supposition, or to the literal meaning of the passage. Plutarch, in the Life of Caesar, speaking of his expedition into Britain, says, " He was the first who brought a fleet into the Western Ocean ;" by which he understands the sea between Gaul and Britain. And Theodoret (Hist. Religios. xxvi. 881) reckons up the inhabitants of Spain, of Britain, and Gaul, (" who," saith he, " lie between the other two,") as those " who dwell in the bounds of the West ;" and among these the Britons must be in the utmost bounds, because the Gauls lie in the midst. Herodotus (lib. iv. 273) says, " The Celtic are the most western of all Europeans." Cave also, in his Life of St. Paul, says, that by the " Islands that lie in the Ocean," Theodoret undoubtedly means Britain, No. III.— Page 72. Origin of the Choral Service in the different Churches, from the fragment of a Treatise given hy Spelman, Concilia, vol. i. page 176. If we diligently inspect the authors of the com'se, we find that it was chanted in the beginning, not as some ignorant men have by various objections maintained it to have been, and many yet contend that it should be. The blessed Trophimus, bishop of Aries, and St. Pothinus the martyr and bishop of Lyons, disciple of St. Peter the apostle, as is related both by Josephus and Eusebius, bishop of Caesarea, taught the Roman course in the Gauls. Afterwards, on the relation of the blessed Pothinus the martyr, who, along with eight and forty martyrs, was thrust into prison, they sent deputies to St. Clement, the fourth successor of St. Peter the apostle, and the l)lessed Clement ordained St. Irena;us bishop. This you will find in the book of St. Irenaeus, the bishop and martyr, himself taught by St. Polycarp, bishop of Smyrna, as Josephus the historian relates, and bishop Irenaeus in his own book. John the Evangelist first chanted the course of the Gauls. Afterwards, the blessed Polycarp, the disciple of St. John. After- wards, Irenaeus who was bishop of Lug- dunensian Gaul, himself the third, chanted the same course in the Gauls. Thenceforth, also by modulations, they admitted series of passages of the New and Old Testament, antiphons and responses from the pages of divers wise men, not from their own,but from the sacred scriptures, or composed tunes and alleluias, and this is the order of the course throughout all the world. Not as many suppose ; as Britto, a certain Galilean clergy- man, devoted to the modulation which himself had put forth, because it makes not that the blessed Jerome, presbyter, and Germanus and Lupus, bishops, expelled the Pelagian or Galilean heresy (as its name is entitled) from the British and Scotch provinces, thence another course, which at the present time is called that of the Scotch, which is But St. Mark the Evangelist, as is related by Josephus and by Eusebius in his fourth book, so preached in the whole of Egypt or Italy as in one church, that the whole of the 172 APPENDIX. saints as well men as women, should all chant either " Glory to God in the highest," or the Lord's Prayer, and Amen. Such M'as his united preaching, and afterwards he published the Gospel from the mouth of St. Peter the Apostle. The blessed Jerome affirms, that the same coui-se which at the present time is called that of the Scotch, was chanted by St. Mark, and after him by St. Gregory of Nazianzen, whom St. Jerome affirms to be his master. And the blessed Basil, brother of the same St. Gregory, Anthony, Paul, Macarius or John, and Malchus, according to the order of the fathers chanted it. Afterwards, the most blessed Cassian, who had the blessed Honorius as compeer in the monastery of Lerins. And after him the blessed Honoratus, the first abbot, and St. Ceesarius, bishop that was in Aries, and the blessed Porcarius, alibot that was in the same monastery, chanted the same course ; who had in their monastery the blessed Lupus and Gennanus as monks. And they, according to the standard of the rule, there chanted the same course, and afterwards obtained the seat of the highest honour in the episcopacy in reverence for their sanctity. And afterwards preached in the British or Scottish provinces, as is affirmed in the life of Germanus bishop of Auxerre, and in the life of the lilessed Lupus, who spiritually instructed the blessed Patrick in the sacred scriptiu-es, and nurtured him, and for their preaching appointed the same bishop archbishop in the Scottish and British pro- vinces, who lived one hundred and fifty-three years, and there chanted the same course. And after him St. Wandelock, the aged, and St. Comgall, who had in their monastery ■•* In the Syiiod of Masticon in Gaul, a. d. 624, Agrostius objected against Colmnbanus, an Irish abbot of Bobbio in Italy, that he used a number of collectB in celebrating the liturgy On the other about three thousand monks. From thence the blessed Wandelock was sent Ijy the abbot Comgall on a ministry of preaching ; and St. Columbanus to the parts of the Gauls ap- pointed to the Luxen monastery, and there they chanted the same course. And thence afterwards the fame of their sanctity was spread abroad through all the world, and from their doctrine many societies as well of men as of women were gathered together. And afterwards thence took its rise under the blessed Columbanus, what had been chanted before by St. Mark the Evangelist ; and if you believe not us, search and you will find it more fully in the life of St. Columbanus, and of the blessed Eustace the abbot, and in the sayings of the Ijlessed Attala, the abbot [of Bobbio.]* There is another, the Oriental course, put forth by St. Cromacius and Eliodorus, and St. Paulinus, also Athanasius the bishop, which is not received into the custom of the Gauls, which was chanted by St. Macharius, that is, by twelves, that is, There is also another course, made mention of by St. Augustine the bishop, which St. Ambrose composed because of the dissimilar order of the heretics, which was ))efore chanted in Italy. There is also another course of St. Bene- dict, differing in singularly few points from the Roman coiu-se, which you find written in his rule : but nevertheless St. Gregory, pontiff of the city of Rome, by his authority confirmed the same as a privilege to the monks, in the life of St. Benedict, in the book of Dialogues, where he said : " That the holy man should not teach otherwise than as the blesvsed Benedict himself lived." hand, Eustasius, who was abbot of Luxovium, and a friend of Columbanus, defended this custom. — Palmer's Anli(/u,Uies of Vie Engluli Lihtryy. APPENDIX. 173 No. lY.—Page 90. ST. PATRICK'S CONFESSION, OR EPISTLE TO THE IRISH. From the origitml Latin as collated and edited by Charles 0' Conor, S. T. D. from the Cottonian MS. of at least 800 and the Armagh of 1000 years' standing. 1. I Patrick a sinner, the most rustic, and the least of all the faithful, and the most con- temptible with most people, had for my father Calpurnius, formerly a deacon, the son of Potitus a priest, who lived in the village of Banavan, belonging to Tabernia ; for he had a cottage in the neighbourhood, where I was captured. I was then about sixteen years old. But I was ignorant of the true God, and was led away into captivity to Ireland, with many thousand men, because we de- parted from God and kept not his command- ments, and were disobedient to our priests who admonished us of our salvation ; wherefore the Lord brought upon us the anger of his indig- nation, and dispersed us among many nations even unto the end of the earth ; where now my littleness is seen among aliens. And there the Lord disclosed a sense of my un- belief, so that even late I remembered my faults, and was converted vrith all my heart unto the Lord my God ; who looked back upon my low estate and compassionated my youth and ignorance, and preserved me be- fore I was wise or distinguished between good and evil ; and strengthened and comforted me as a father his son. 2. For which reason I am unable, nor in- deed is it meet, to keep secret such great blessings and so much grace, which (the Lord) vouchsafed (to bestow) upon me in the land of my captivity ; because this is our re- compense, that after correction we should be raised to a knowledge of God and confess his wonders before every nation under heaven. — Because there is no other God, nor ever was, nor will be hereafter, except God the Father, unbegotten, without beginning, from whom is all l)eginning, maintaining (as we have said) all things; and his Son Jesus Christ, who, we testify, was with the Father always, before the foundation of the world, spmtually along wth the Father; ineffably begotten before all be- ginning; and by him (all) things visible and invisible were made ; he became man, and having conquered death was received into the heavens to the Father ; who has given him all power over every name of celestial, and terrestrial, and infernal Ijeings, that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord and God ; whom we believe and expect to come, as the futiu-e judge of the quick and the dead ; who shall render to every one according to his works : and who has infrised into us abundantly the gift of his Holy Spirit, and the pledge of immortality; who makes those that believe and obey to be sons of God the Father and coheirs ^vith Christ : whom we confess and worship, one God in the Trinity of the sacred name. For he himself has said by the prophet, ' Call upon me in the day of thy trouble: and I will deliver thee, and thou shalt glorify me.' (Psalm. 1. 15.) And again he says, ' It is an honourable thing to make kno\\Ti and confess the works of God.' Al- though I am imperfect in many things, I wish my brethren and kinsmen to know my con- dition, that they may perceive the wish of my soul. I am not ignorant of the testimony of my Lord, who declares in the Psalm, ' Thou 174 APPENDIX. wilt destroy tliem thiit speak falsehood,' (Ps. V. 6 ;) and again, ' The mouth that lieth slayeth the soul.' (Wisd. i. 11.) And the same Lord says in the Gospel, ' Every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment.' (Matt. xii. 3G.) For which reason I ought to fear this sentence \vith exceeding great fear and trembling in that day, when no one shall be able to with- draw or hide himself ; but we shall all give an account, even of the least transgressions, before the judgment-seat of Christ the Lord. (Job xxxiv. 22; Rom. xiv. 10, 12; 2 Cor. v. 10,11.) 3. Wherefore I formerly thought of ^\Titillg [to you], but have hesitated until now. For I was afraid, lest I should incm' the reproach of men : being one who has not read, like others, who [have read] well, and so with good reason have learned the sacred scriptures both in the original and in versions; and from infancy have never changed their language, but always brought it to greater perfec- tion. For our speech and language [Irish] has been changed for a foreign tongue [La- tin] ; so that it can easily be proved from the drivelling of my ^vTiting how little I am in- structed and skilled in composition : because, saith the wise man, ' by speech wisdom shall be known, and the knowledge and doctrme of difference,' (Ecclus. iv. 24.) But what avails an excuse against the truth, especially when joined with presumption I How much do 1 now want in my old age what I did in my youth, because my sins have hindered me from perfecting my knowledge of what I had not before once read through. But who believes me, tliough I may say it I As I before said, when a youth, nay, almost a beardless boy, I was made captive, before I knew what I wanted, or what I ought to avoid. Wherefore I am still ashamed and exceedingly afraid of disclosing my own ig- norance, because I am unable to explain things concisely to the learned. For accord- ing as the spirit is delighted, so do the mind and reason show the eft'ect. But if it has not been granted to me as to others, nevertheless I could not keep silence because of retribu- tion; although I may appear perhaps to some to push myself too forward with my igno- rance and slowness of tongue. But it is written, ' The tongue of the stammerers shall learn to speak peace fluently.' (Isa. xxxii. 4.) How much more ought we to desire it, ' who are,' as he says, ' the epistle of Christ,' in salvation even unto the ends of the earth: although [I have spoken words] not elo- quent, but established and most firmly \vrit- ten in your hearts, ' not with ink, but with the Spirit of the living God.' (2 Cor. iii. 3.) And again the Spirit testifieth, ' And rusticity was created by the Most High.' (Ecclus. vii. 15.) 4. Wherefore I first a rustic untaught fugitive, who know not how to pronde for the future; but this I do know most assuredly, that before I was humbled, I was as a stone that lies in the deep clay, and He that is powerful came and raised me up in his mercy, and lifted me on high, and placed me at the top of the wall ; and from thence I ought to cry aloud, even as some recompence to the Lord for so great blessings, here and for ever, which the mind of men cannot estimate : therefore admire, O great and little ones, who fear God ; and ye who are ignorant of the Lord, rhetoricians of the Gauls, hear then and examine. Who raised up me a fool from the midst of those who seem to be wise and skilled in the law, and powerful in speech and in every thing, and inspired me indeed before others, the detestable of this world, if such I were i Namely, that with fear and reverence and without complaint I should faithfully profit the [Irish] nation, to which the charity APPENDIX. 175 of Christ transferred and gave me, in my life : if at last I should be found worthy to serve them with truth and humility. And so in the measure of the faith of the Trinity it is meet to celebrate without appre- hension of danger, to make known the gift of God and eternal consolation without fear, to spread abroad ivith boldness the name of God everywhere ; that even after my death I might leave to my Gallic brethren and to my [Irish] sons, whom I baptized in the Lord, so many thousands of men. I was not worthy, nor sufficient, that God should grant this to his poor servant, that after toils, after so great difficulties, after cajitivity, after the lapse of many years, he should bestow upon me such abundant grace in regard to that nation, which in my youth I never at any time hoped for or thought of. 5. But after I had come to Ireland, I every day fed cattle, and frequently in the day I prayed. My love of God and my fear of him increased more and more; my faith was en- larged and my spirit was strengthened ; inso- much that I said in one day full a hundred prayers and nearly as many in the night; so that I remained in the woods and on the mountain; and before it was light, I was roused to prayer l)y the frost and rain ; but I felt no inconvenience nor was there any sloth- fulness in me, such as I now perceive, because then the spirit burned within me. 6. And there one night in a dream I heard a voice saying unto me. Thou fastest well, and shalt return quickly to thine own country. And again, after a little while, Lo, thy ship is ready. It was not nigh ; but about two hun- dred miles off. I never had been there, nor had I any acquaintance there among the people : yet I turned myself in flight, and left the man [Milcho] with whom I had Ijeen six years. So I went in the power of the Lord, who directed my life to good, fearing nothing. until I came to the ship. And that day in which I arrived the ship unmoored from her station, and I told them I had no money to pay the passage with them. And it displeased the master, and he answered sharply with in- dignation, In vain do you wish to go with us. So when I heard this I left them, to go back to the hut where I lodged ; and on the way I began to pray. But before I could finish my prayer, I heard one of them crying out loudly after me. Come quickly, for these men call thee ; and I immediately returned to them, and they began to say unto me, Come, for we receive thee in faith : enter into friendship with us, according to thy desire : so that day I refrained to fly, for the fear of God. Never- theless I hoped that they would say unto me, Come in the faith of Jesus Christ; because they were gentiles. 7. Thus I succeeded with them, and imme- diately we set sail ; and the third day after we reached land ; and for twenty-eight days we travelled through a desert, and pro\asions failed them, and we were oppressed with hunger. And one day the master began to say unto me. Christian, what sayest thou ? Thy God is gi-eat and all powerful, why then canst thou not pray for us, since we are in danger of perishing with hunger ? for we can scarcely expect to see any man [to relieve us]. Then I said plainly unto them. Turn ye faith- fully, and with all your heart to the Lord oiu- God, for to him nothing is impossible : and [I mil pray unto him] to send you food on your way, even to fulness ; for to him it abounds everywhere. And with God's help so it hap- pened ; for lo, a herd of swine appeared on the way before om* eyes, and they killed many of them. And there they remained two nights, well refreshed, and were relieved with their flesh ; for many of them had fainted and were left half alive by the way. After this they gave the greatest thanks to God, and I 176 APPENDIX. was honoured in their eyes. ( And from that day fortli they had food in abundance.) They also found wild honey, and offered me a share ; and one of them said, This is an offering ; thanks to [our] God. After that I did not taste it, 8. The same night, however, as I was sleeping, Satan sorely tempted me, which I shall remember as long as I shall be in this body. It was as though a huge stone fell upon me, and my limbs were wholly jiowerless. But it occurred to me, from what I know not, in the spirit to call Helias ? and in the mean- time I saw the sun rise in the heavens, and while I cried Helias ! Helias ! with [all] my might, lo, the brightness of the sun shone upon me and dispelled all my heaviness. I believe that (I was relieved) by Christ my Lord, (and his Spirit even then) cried out for me : and I hope that it will be so in the day of my oppression ; as in the gospel he saith, (In that day) the Lord (tesstiiieth), * It is not ye that speak, but the Spirit of your Father that speaketh in you.' [Matt. x. 20.] 9. And again after not many years I suf- fered another captivity. And so it was, that the first night of my stay with them, I heard a divine response, sajing unto me, Thou shalt be two months with them ; which so happened, for on the sixtieth night the Lord delivered me out of their hands. Lo, in the way he provided us daily with food and fire and dry- ness [or dry wood], till on the fourteenth day we came to some men ; (as I have noticed above, when we travelled twenty-eight days through the desert) and on the night in which we came to the men, of real food we had none. 10. And again, a few years afterwards, I was in Britain with my parents, who re- ceived me as a son, and entreated me to promise after all the tril)ulations I had under- gone to depart from them no more. While I remained there, 1 saw in a vision, at night, a man named Victoricius, coming, as it were, from Ireland, with epistles inmmierable; and he gave me one of them. And I read the beginning of the epistle, containing The Voice of the Irish, and while I was reciting the begiiming of the epistle, I thought, at the moment, that I heard the voice of the inhabitants of the wood of Foclut, which is near the Western Ocean, crying out to me, as if with one voice. We beseech thee, holy youth, to come and walk again among us. And I was greatly pricked in my heart, and could read no more ; and so I awoke. God be thanked, that many years after the Lord dealt with them according to their cry. And another night, some one, whether in me or beside me, I know not, God knoweth, ad- dressed me in fine language, which I heard, but could not understand, except at the end of his speech, he thus said, ' He that laid down his life for thee, he it is that speaketh in thee.' And so I awoke rejoicing greatly. And again I saw him praying in me: and I was, as it were, within my own body : and I heard [him] above me, that is, above the inward man, and he there prayed earnestly wth groanings. And in the meanwhile I was astonished and wondered, and bethought myself who it could he that prayed in me. But at the end of his discourse he so spoke that I knew him to be the Spirit. And so I awoke and rememl)ered what the apostle [Paul] saith,' 'The Spirit also helpeth the infirmity of our speech: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought; but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings imuttcrable.' [Rom. viii. 26.] And again, ' The Lord is our advocate, who maketh intercession for us.' [1 John ii. I; Rom. viii. 34.] 1 1 . And when I was tempted by some of my elders, who came aiid repi'o\ed me for my sins, against my laborious episcopal office, APPENDIX. 177 verily on that day I was strongly impelled to fall here and for ever. But the Lord siiared a proselyte and a stranger, for his own name's sake, and graciously and powerfully succoured me in this oppression, so that I did not un- happily come to shame and dishonour. I pray God that [the occasion] may not be im- puted to them for sin : for they found me thirty years after and [spoke] against the word which I had confessed before I was a deacon ; [when] from anxiety with troubled mind I imparted to my most intimate friend, what 1 had done one day in my boyhood, nay in one hour, seeing that I had not as yet waxed strong. I know not, God knoweth, whether at that time I was fifteen years old, and I believed not in the living God, neither had I from my infancy : but I remained in death and unbelief, until I was sorely chastised and humbled in the truth, by hunger and nakedness ; and [that too] daily. On the contrary, I went not voluntarily to Ireland, until I was almost spent. But this was far better for me, because hereby I was amended by the Lord ; who now fitted me for that which I formerly wanted ; namely, to care and labour for the salvation of others ; at a time when I did not even think about myself. 12. That day therefore in which I was re- proved by the [elders] above mentioned, [in the night] I saw in a vision of the night [what] was written before my face without honour. And in the meanwhile I heard a [divine] response saying unto me : " We have ill seen the face of God who is made known by the revealed name, nor did he thus foretell, thou hast ill seen ; but we have ill seen, as though he there joined himself, as he said, ' He that toucheth you toucheth the apj^le of mine eye.'" [Zech. ii. 8.] Therefore I give thanks to him who hath comforted me in all things, that he did not hinder me from the journey to [Ireland] which I had resolved upon ; and 2 . regarding my work which 1 had learned from Chri.st. But thereby 1 the more perceived no small strength within me ; and my faith was proved before God and men. Wherefore I say boldly, ' My heart shall not reproach me now and for ever.' [Job xxvi. 6.] 13. God is my witness that in these accounts which I have related to you I have not lied. But 1 grieve more for my most intimate friend, whom I even entrusted with my soul, why we deserved to hear such a response as this. And I found fronj certain [Galilean] In-ethren before that defence, — because I was not present, neither was I in Britain, — nor shall it arise from me that even he should plead for me in my absence : yea, he himself had said unto me with his own mouth, ' Lo, thou art to be assigned to the dignity of bishop,' because 1 was not worthy. But how came he afterwards to dishonour me publicly before all men, good and bad, [for that] which before of his own accord he had readily par- doned i And the Lord who is greater than all .... I say sufficient. But yet 1 ought not to conceal the gift of God, which he ))estowed ujjon us in the land of my captivity. Because then 1 earnestly sought for him and there I found him, and he saved me from all iniquities. So 1 believe, because of his indwelling Spirit, which has again worked boldly within me, even until this day. But God knoweth, if man had spoken out to me, perhaps 1 might have been silent for the love of Christ. Wherefore I will give unwearied thanks to my God, who hath kept me faithfully in the day of my temptation : 80 that this day 1 will confidentl}' offer to him a sacrifice, a living victim, my soul, to Christ my Lord, who hath saved me from all my troubles : that 1 also may say. Who am I, Lord, or what is my calling, that thou hast clothed me with so much divinity ? so that to-day I should constantly exult among the nations, and should 1Y8 APPENDIX. magnify th}' name wheresoever I be found ; and that not only in prosperity but also in afflictions : that whatever shall happen to me, whether good or evil, I ought alike to under- take it and at all times to give thanks to God, who hath taught me to believe in him the in- dubitable without end, and who hath heard me : that ignorant though I am, I should in my last days attempt to undertake so pious and so wonderful a work ; so as to imitate those, who in time past the Lord had foretold, should preach his gospel for a witness unto all nations before the end of the world. [Matt, xxiv, 14.] Which (as we have seen) has been so fulfilled. Lo, we are witnesses, that the gospel has been preached even unto where there is no one beyond. 14. It would take a long time to recount my labours in the several details or in parts. I shall briefly declare how the most holy God often delivered me out of slavery ; out of twelve perils by which my soul was in jeopardy, besides many snares, and things which I am unable to express in words; neither will I do offence to my readers. But as long as I have a Protector who knows all things before they come to pass, yet on that account the divine response very frequently admo- nished (me a poor dependent). Whence have I this wisdom which was not in me, who neither knew the number of my days (Psalm xc. 12), nor had a knowledge of God ? Whence afterwards the gift so great, so whole- some, to acknowledge or to love God I — Ijut that I might not leave my country and parents, many gifts were offered me, with weeping and tears; and I offended those [name- ly,my parents], and also,against my wish,some of ray elder brethren. But by God's guidance I by no means consented nor agreed with them ; indeed it was not my grace, but God, who conquered in me and resisted them all, that I should come and preach the gospel to the Irish gentiles and endure insults from unbelievers, that I should encounter reproach and many persecutions, even to bonds, on account of my peregrination, and give up my freedom for the benefit of others. And if I shall be found worthy, I am ready even to give up my life, wthout hesitation and most willingly for his name; and I wish there to spend it even to death, if the Lord will grant me that indulgence. For I am greatly a debtor to God, who has bestowed on me so much grace, that many people through me should be bom again unto God and afterwards perfected ; and that clergy should every where be ordained among them, for the people lately coming to belief, whom the Lord hath taken to himself from the ends of the earth ; as he had for- merly promised by the prophets, (' To thee shall the gentiles come from the ends of the earth, and shall say,) As our fathers have made unto themselves false idols, and there is no profit in them.' [Jer. xvi. 19.] And again, ' I have placed thee a light among the gentiles, that thou mayest be for salvation to the ends of the earth.' [Isa. xlix. 6.] And there I wish to await his promise, who never deceiveth ; as he promiseth in the gospel : ' They shall come from the east and from the west, and shall sit down with Abraham and Isaac and Jacob.' [Matt. viii. 11.] For, as we trust, believers shall come from all the world. 15. Therefore it behoveth us to fish well and diligently, as the Lord hath forewarned, saying, ' Come ye after me, and I will make you to become fishers of men.' [Matt. iv. 19.] And again he saith by the prophets, ' Behold, I will send many fishers and hunters, saith the Lord,' &c. [Jer. xvi. 16.] Where- fore it greatly behoved us to spread our nets, that a great multitude and crowd might be caught for God ; and that there might every where be clergy to baptize the people needing APPENDIX. 179 and requiriiig it : as the Lord admonisheth in the gospel, and teacheth ; saying, ' Go there- fore and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost ; teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you ahvay, even unto the end of the world.' [Matt, xxviii. 19, 20.] And again he saith, ' Go therefore into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature: he that believeth and is baptized shall be saved ; but he that believeth not shall be damned.' [Mark xvi. 15, 16.] And again, ' This gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world, for a witness unto all nations, and then shall the end come.' [Matt. xxiv. 14.] Again the Lord, foretelling by the prophet, saith, ' And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith the Lord, that I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh ; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy ; and your sons shall see visions, and yom- old men shall dream dreams: and also upon my servants and upon my handmaids in those days will I pour out my Spirit, and they shall prophesy.' [Joel ii. 28, 29.] And in Hosea he saith, ' I will call them that were not my peoj)le, my people, and her that had not obtained mercy, one that has obtained mercy; and it shall come to pass, that in the place where it was said, Ye are not my people, there they shall be called the sons of the living God.' [Hosea i. 10; ii. 23.] 16. Wherefore also in Ireland, those who never had the knowledge of God, and wor- shipped only idols and unclean things even until now ; how have they lately become the people of God, and are called the sons of God ! — The sons of Scots and daughters of chieftains are seen to be monks and virgins of Christ. — There was also one blessed Scottish virgin [Bridget], of noble race, most fair, and adult, whom 1 liaptized. And a few days after, on one occasion, she [Bridget] came to us, declaring that she had received a [Divine] response from a messen- ger of God ; and advised also, that she herself should become a virgin of Christ, and should draw nigh unto God ; thanks be to God ! On the sixth day after this she most properly and most eagerly embraced it ; forasmuch as all the virgins of God also do the same, not with the consent of their fathers, but suffer perse- cution, and false reproaches from their parents, nevertheless the number is increased the more: and of those of our race who are bom there, we know not their nimiber, besides widows and chaste persons. But those females are oppressed the most, who are kept in slavery ; who constantly persevere even against terrors and threats, But the Lord liath granted grace to many of my handmaids, for al- though they suffer so much, yet they cou- rageously imitate [the others.] And how, were I so minded, could 1 lose them ? And when I was ready to go into Britain, yea most willingly, as to mine own country and parents ; and not that only, but was ready to go even to Gaul to visit the brethren ; and 1 wished to see the face of the saints of my Lord ; God knoweth, how greatly I wished it: but [I cannot forget them] being bound by the Spirit ; which protests to me against it and declares, that if 1 do so, I shall be held as guilty : and by going away I fear to lose the labour which I have begun. And not I, but Christ the Lord, who commanded me to go into Ireland ; and also commanded that I should be with them the remainder of my life ; if the Lord shall will it and guard me from every evil way, so that I sin not before him, I ought to hope, but I trust not in myself, as long as I shall be ' in this body of death ;' [Rom vii. 24.] because he [Satan] is powerful, who daily strives to sub- vert me from the faith and from my purposed 180 APPENDIX. chastity, even unto the end of my life, in Christ my Lord. But ' the adverse flesli allures alway iinto death,' [Rom. viii. 6,] that is, to the fulfilling of unlawful desires. And ' 1 know in part' [1 Cor. xiii. 12], so that 1 have not lived a perfect life, like the other believers. But I confess to my Lord, and I lie not, from the time I have known him, from my j'outh up, the love of God and the fear of him hath increased ; so that, by God's favour, I have kept the faith even until now. 1 7. Let him then that wishes, laugh and insult ; I will not he silent, neither will I conceal the signs and wonders that have been shown to me by the Lord, many years before they were, as one ' who knows all things, even before the foundation of the world.' [Rom. viii. 29 ; Matt. XXV. 34.] Wherefore I ought without ceasing to give thanks to God, who hath often been indulgent to my foolishness, and that not in one place only, so as not to be greatly incensed against me, who was appointed a helper [to the Irish] ; and I did not soon rest, according to what had been shown to me, and as the Spirit suggested. And the Lord had compassion upon me unto thousands of thousands, because he saw in me that I was ready, but that because of these persons I knew not concerning my state what I should do : because many were for hindering this mission, and already spoke among themselves behind my back and said, ' This man, why does he thrust himself hito danger among enemies who know not the Lord ?' not as out of malice, but it was not wise in their eyes, as I understood (I myself testify), because of my rusticity. And I did not cpiickly perceive the grace which was then in me; but now I am apjirehcnded by that which I ought to have apprehended liefnrc. Now therefore, I have simply intimated to my [Gallic] breth- ren and fellow-servants who believed me. " On account of what I declared to you before, and nf)w declare to you, in order to strengthen your faith, I wish that you also may imitate me, nay, may do greater and better things. This will be my glory : for ' a wise son is the glory of his father.'" Prov. x. 1 ; xvii. 6. 1 8. You and God know, in what manner I have conversed vriib you from my youth, both in faith of truth, and in sincerity of heart ; even towards those nations among whom I dwell, I have kept my faith with them and will keep it. God knoweth that I have circumvented none of them, neither do I think of it, because of God and his church : lest I should stir up persecution against them and all of us, and lest by me the name of the Lord should be blasphemed : for it is written, ' Woe unto the man, by whom the name of the Lord is blasphemed.' [Matt. xxvi. 24 ; Rom. ii. 20.] For although I am ignorant in all things, yet I have endeavoured somewhat even to preserve myself, for the Cliristian brethren, and for the virgins of Christ, and for the devout women, who presented me with voluntary gifts, and gave of their ornaments upon the altar, which I again restored to them; and they were offended with me for doing this; but I did it, because of the hope of eternity, that for that reason I might keep myself warily, so that they might not find me unfaithful in any respect, or the ministry of my service ; neither that I might, even in the least thing, give occasion to unbelievers for slander or detraction. But by chance, .... when I baptized so many thousands of men, if I expected from any of them even the smallest remuneration, tell me and I will restore it to you. Or when the Lord ordained clergy, by my hmnblc ministry, did I not dispense to them gratuitously ? 'If 1 demand- ed from any of them even the price of my shoe, speak against me and I will restore it to you.' [Gen. xiv. 23 ; 1 Sam. xii. 32.] 1 9. I have been therefore at expense more for you sakes than that it should please me. And I went among you, and every where, for APPENDIX. 181 your sake [not mine] in the midst of many dangers, even to the remotest parts, where no one was beyond, and where never any one had arrived, to baptize, or to ordain clergy, or to perfect the people; by the Lord's gift, t have done all diligently and most willingly for your welfare. Meanwhile I gave fines to kings, be- cause I gave the reward [of faith] to their sons, who walk with me : and [at first] they did not aj)prehend me with my companions And on that day they most eagerly sought to kill me, but the time was not yet come : and all things whatsoever they found with us, those they violently took away, and bound myself in chains. And on the fourth day the Lord released me out of their power, and whatsoever was ours was restored to us, on account of God and the near friends, whom we had before provided. Ye yourselves wtnessed, how much I disbursed to them [the Brehons], who dispensed justice through all the countries wliich I more frequently visited. For I think that not the smallest price of fifteen men was distributed among them, so that you might enjoy me, and I you alway unto God : it reiJenteth me not, neither is it enough for me ; I yet expend, and ^vill expend more : God is able to grant unto me hereafter, that I may expend myself for yoiu- souls. .... Lo, I call God to witness against my soul, that I lie not ; neitlier have I written to you that there may be any occasion of flattery or of avarice, or that I might expect honour from you. For sufficient for me is the honoxir, which is not seen, but believed in the heart j He that has faithfully promised never lies. But I see myself, already in the present generation, exalted above measm-e by the Lord : and I was not worthy, nor such a one, that he should so deal with me, since I know most assiu-edly that poverty and wretchedness are more appropriate for me than luxury and riches. But even ' Christ the Lord also Avas poor for our sakes.' [2 Corinthians viii. 9.] 20. But I wretched and mifortunate, even if I should wish for riches, now have them not ; neither do I judge myself, seeing that I daily expect either death, or to be circum- vented, or to be reduced to slavery, or a misadventiu-e of some kind. But none of these do I fear, because of the promises of heaven : for I have cast myself into the hands of the omnipotent God who ruleth everywhere : as the prophet saith, ' Cast thy care upon God, and lie mil sustain thee.' [Psalm Iv. 22; 1 Pet. v. 7.] Behold I now commend my soul to my most faithful Lord, for whom I fulfil this mission in my obscurity. But because ' he accepteth not persons' and hath chosen me to this office, that I may be one of the least of his ministers : ' And what shall I render unto him, for all his benefits to- ward me?' [Psalm cxvi. 12.] But what shall I say or what shall I promise to my Lord I For I see nothing, save what he hath given to me : but I will search into my heart and reins, for I desire exceedingly, and am ready that he should grant me ' to drink of his cup,' as he vouchsafed to others that loved him. [Matt. xx. 23.] 21. Wherefore, may it be granted me by my God, never to lose his people, whom I have gained in the ends of the earth. I pray God to give me perseverance, and to deign that I may render him faithful witness, until my departm-e, for the sake of my God. And if I have ever imitated any good thing, for the sake of my God, whom I love, I beseech him to grant me, that with those proselytes and captives, for his name I also may shed my blood, even if I myself should want burial, or my carcase should most miserably be torn limb from limb by dogs or wild beasts, or the fowls of the air devour it. Most assuredly, I think, if this shoidd happen to me, I should gain my soul with my body ; 182 APPENDIX. because doubtless, in that day, we shall rise again in the brightness of the sun, [Dan. xii. 3; Matt. xiii. 43,] that is, in the glory of Christ Jesus, our Redeemer, the Son of the living God ; and shall be joint heirs with Christ, and conformed to his future image : [Rom. ix. 17, 29;] because, of him, and through him, and in him, we shall reign. [Rom. ix. 36 ; 1 Cor. viii. 6 ; Rom. v. 17 ; 2 Tim. ii. 12 ; Rev. v. 10.] For the visible sun, by God's command, riseth daily for our sakes, but never shall reign, nor shall his brightness be permanent : and moreover, all they who adore him shall miserably come into punish- ment. But we (Christians) believe and adore the true Sun (Mai. iv. 2), Christ, who never shall perish, neither he that doeth his will, but shall remain for ever, even as Christ also shall remain for ever : who reigneth with God the Father Almighty, and with the Holy Ghost, before all ages, now and for evermore. Amen. [P.S.] Lo, I will again and again briefly expound to you the words of my Conf 'ssion. I testify in truth, and in exultation of heart, before God and his holy angels, [1 Tim. v. 21,] tliat I never had any occasion, except the gospel and its promises, ever to return to that nation [the Irish], from which .... 1 had before with difficulty escaped. But I pray those that believe in and fear God, if any one shall deign to look into or receive this writing, which Patrick the [im- taught] sinner hath written from Ireland ; .... that no one may ever say, that by my ignorance [was it brought about], if even I have taught some little according to the ordinance of God : but consider, and let it be most truly lielieved, that it was the gift of God. And this is my Confession, before I die. No. \,—Page 92. COMMENCEMENT OF THE SYNOD OF BISHOPS, i. e. OF PATRICK, AUXILIUS, AND ISSEBNINUS. We give thanks to God the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost. — To the Priests and Deacons, and all the Clergy, the Bishops Patrick, Auxilius, and Isserninus, greeting I It is better for us to forewarn the negligent, than to blame xuhat has been done : as Solomon saith, " It is better to reprove than to be angry." The articles of our ajypointing are written below, and begin thus : — 1. If any captive upon torture shall be- 5. If any thing shall remain over and above, seech among the people of his own let him place it upon the altar of the pontiff, authority without licence, he hath deserved that it may be given to another that needeth. to be excommunicated. 6. If any clerk, from an ostiary to a priest, 2. Let the readers indeed know appear without his tunic, and cover not the every one the church in which he singeth. shame and nakedness of his belly, and if his 3. Let not a clerk be a wanderer up and hair be not shaved according to the Roman down among the people. 4. If any one shall have received permission, and an amount be collected, let him not de- mand more than necessity requires. method ; or if his wife should walk about with her head unveiled, let such be both despised by the laity, and separated from the church. APPENDIX. 183 7. If any clerk, from negligence, be absent at the Morning or Evening service, let him be excommunicated, unless perchance he should be detained by the yoke of servitude. 8. If any clerk become surety for a gentile to any extent, and if it should happen (which cannot be wondered at) that by some kind of cunning the gentile deceive the clerk, let the clerk pay the del)t out of his own property ; but if he enters into the lists with him, he shall be put out of the pale of the church. 9. Let not a monk and a virgin from different places dwell in one house, go in the same conveyance from town to town, or earnestly converse together. 10. If a man shall have commenced the good work by singing the [canonical] houi-Sj and has afterwards discontinued, and suffered his hair to grow, let him be excluded from the church, unless he return immediately to his former condition. 11. If any clergyman shall have been ex- communicated by any one, and another shall have received him, let both undergo the like penance. 12. If any Christian shall be excommuni- cated, let not his alms be received. 13. It is not lawful to receive into the church alms offered by gentiles. 14. Let a Christian who hath committed murder or fornication, or who like the gentiles hath observed auguries, do penance for a year for each crime ; at the end of which year let him come with vsdtnesses, and then be absolved by the priest. 15. And he that shall have committed theft, the half ; let him repent twenty days on bread, and, if possible, make restitution of the things stolen ; thus let him be received again into the church. 16. If a Christian shall have believed a spectre which is called a goblin to be in a mirror, let him be anathematized, whosoever hath impressed this notion upon his mind ; neither let him be received again into the church, till again by his own voice he recant the sin he hath committed, and thus let him do penance with all diligence. 17. A virgin who hath vowed to God to remain in chastity, and hath afterwards married an earthly spouse, let her be excom- municated until she be converted ; if she be converted and leave her adultery, let her do penance, and afterwards let them not dwell in the same house, or in the same town. 18. An excommunicated person must not enter the church, even on Easter night, until he have received absolution. 19. If a Christian woman shall have taken unto herself a husband in honourable wedlock, aiid shall have afterwards departed from the first and united herself to an adulterer, let her who hath done this be excommunicated. 20. Let a Christian who defraudeth any one of a debt, after the manner of the gentiles, be out of the communion until he pay the debt. 21 . If a Christian shall have suffered «Tong from any one, and he challenge him before a [temporal] tribunal and not before the church, that the cause may be there examined, let him that hath done so be an alien. 22. If any one shall have given his daugh- ter to a husband in honourable wedlock, and she shall have loved another, and he consent unto his daughter and shall have received the dowry, let both be excommunicated from the church. 23. If any presbyter shall have built a church, let him not offer there till he has brought his bishop to consecrate it ; for this is proper. 24. If any stranger shall have entered among the people let him not baptize, nor make offering, nor consecrate, nor build a church, before he receive licence from the 184 APPENDIX. bishop : for he that looks for licence from the gentiles, let him be an alien. 25. If any gift shall have been presented by devout men on the days wherein the pontiff hath resided in the several churches, to order, as is the ancient custom, the pontifical gifts, they shall belong to the bishop, either for necessary use, or for distriliution among the poor, as the bishop himself shall appoint. 26. If any clerk shall have offered opposi- tion, and shall have been detected laying hands upon the gifts, as one covetous of base gain, let him be separated from the church. 27. If a clerk hath ncAvly entered among the people of a bishop, it is not lawful for him to baptize and to make offering, nor to minister in any thing ; if he do otherwise, let him be out of the communion. 28. If any clerk be excommunicated, let him pray alone, and not in the same house wth the rest of the brethren. He must not offer or consecrate till he hath made satisfac- tion ; and if any do otherwise, let him be punished doubly. 29. If any brother wishes to receive the grace of God, let him not be baptized till he has fasted forty days. 30. Let not a bishop who goes from his own parish into another presume to ordain, unless he receive permission from him who is in his own principality : on the Lord's day let him offer only as a communicant, and be content here to obey. 31. If one of two clerks, who happen to be at discord in any matter, shall have been hired by some one, and brought forward as an enemy to one of the two, to kill him, it is meet that he be called a murderer ; which clerk is accounted an alien by all upright men. 32. If any one of the clergy shall be de- sirous to assist a captive, let him succour him at his own cost, for if he attempt to assist him by fraud, many clerks are blasphemed through one robber ; he that hath done so, let him be excommunicated . 33. A clerk coming from Britain to us without a letter, and if he dwell among the laity, may not lawfully officiate. 34. In like manner among us, if a deacon not having consulted his abbot, and without letters, betake himself into another parish, it is not meet to minister food to him, and let him be punished with penance by his priest whom he hath despised ; and a monk who wanders abroad without consent of his abbot, it behoves him to be punished. No. Yl.—Page 112. The Pallium, or Pall. The origin of the pall is obscure; but its use is of high antiquity. Tertullian, who lived at the beginning of the third century, wrote a treatise, " De Pallio." It consisted of a long strip of fine woollen cloth ornamented with crosses, the middle of which was formed into a loose collar resting on the shoulders, while the extremities before and behind hung down nearly to the feet. In the east it is called omophorion, and has been used at least since the time of St. Clirysostom, the bishojis wearing it above the phenolion, or vestment, APPENDIX. 185 during the eucharist. St. Isodore of Pelu- sium has given some explanation of the va- rious mystical significations of this ornament, (lib. i. ep. 136.) The learned Peter de Marca observes, that the pall was part of the imperial habit; that the emperors gave permission to the patri- archs to wear it; and for any one to presume to use it without the royal licence, would be guilty of high treason. Hence, it appears, that when Auxanius, archbishop of Aries, [a.d. 543] requested of Vigilius, patriarch of Rome, that the privilege of the pall might be conferred on him as vicar-apostolic, Vi- gilius could not grant his desire till he had gained the consent of the emperor. (Vigil, epist. i. ad Auxan. Collier's Eccles. Hist. i. 69. folio.) The following is Cressy's account of the " form, original, dignity, and privileges of the archiepiscopal pall." He observes, that " it was at first truly a mantle, or upper vesture, as the word imports, worn by emperors, and by Constantine as an honour permitted to the pope, and by him communicated to other patriarchs. And in this form it continues in the eastern parts: whereas at Rome and in the west, this title is given to a small portion or appendix to the first pallium, being accord- ing to the description given of it by pope In- nocent III., a certain wreath, as it were the collar of an order, of about three fingers' breadth, encompassing the neck; from which descends two labels, before and behind ; on the circle are interwoven four purple crosses, and in each label one; and it is fastened to the upper garment with three golden pins." In the time of St. Gregory the Great it was conferred as a badge of honour, to be worn by the archbishops during the time of divine service, and was regarded as an em- blem of humility, charity, and innocence. Frequent mention is made of it in St. Gre- gory's Epistles, where he exhorts the prelates to vindicate the design and honour of it by justice and humility, (lib. ix. epist. 125.) Alcuin thus exhorts the metropolitan when he puts it on : " Always reflect when thou art clothed with the pall of sanctity, and seest the sign of the holy cross aflSxed to it before and behind, that thou oughtest to follow Him who bore his cross on which he prepared the trophy of our redemption. When thou seest it, kiss it and venerate it, as becometh the sanctity of this sign ; and remember that thou oughtest to follow him who saith, ' He who will come after me, let him take up his cross and follow me.'" (Ale. i. ep. Ixxxu. p. 121.) No. Yll.—Page 151. The Eotster Controversy. Some WTiters have erroneously supposed that the disjaute between the ancient British and the Saxon clergy respecting the celebra- tion of the Easter festival was the same as that which disturbed the peace of the church in the time of Poly carp; and consequently it has been assumed that the former were Quartodecimans. There had been a variation in very early times between the churches of Asia Minor, Syria, and Mesopotamia, on the 2 B 186 APPENDIX. one hand, and the rest of the Christian world on the other, in regard to the observance of the paschal festival — other churches uniting in keeping it on a Sunday, whilst the Chris- tians of those countries kept it at the Jewish passover, the fourteenth day of Nisan, on whatever day of the week it happened to fall. The inconvenience had been felt in the time of Polycarp, during whose sojourn in Rome in the time of its bishop Anicetus, they endeavoured each to persuade the other to embrace the practice he followed. But their conferences were without any other effect than to cause both parties to differ in peace. This subject continuing to disturb the peace and unity of the church, it was eventually decided at the council of Nice, that the fes- tival should be observed on the Sunday next after the fourteenth day of the moon. This was the custom which had hitherto been observed by the British clergy, who had never agreed with the Quartodecimans in the East, as some have supposed. The emperor Constantine, in an epistle which he wrote upon the subject, assures us, that " Easter is used to be celebrated in Britain after the same manner as it is at Rome." For the finding of Easter Sunday, astro- nomical calculations were dra\vn ujj, called cycles or circles; but, after a time, these were fovmd to be inaccurate, and required revision. As Egypt was celebrated for its skill in astro- nomy and knowledge of mathematics, it was agreed that the patriarch of Alexandria should annually consult the philosophers of his country, and communicate the result of their researches to the patriarch of Rome, who would notify the day to the more distant churches. Many circumstances, however, prevented this plan from securing uniformitj', and recourse was, therefore, again had to the use of cycles. The one adopted by the Alexandrians comprised nineteen years; that of the Romans eighty-four. According to the former the equinoctial new moon could not occur earlier than the 8th of March, nor later than the 5th of April ; while the latter defined the limits to be the fifth of March and the third of April. Hence in the year 417, Easter was celebrated at Rome on the 2.5th of March, and at Alexandria on the 22nd of April ; because the new moon which fell on the 5th of March was considered by the Romans as the equinoctial moon, and that which fell on the 4th of April the equi- noctial moon by the Alexandrians; and thus it happened that while the Christians were celebrating the resurrection of their Lord, those in the East had but recently com- menced the Lenten fast. It was not till the time of Pope Hilarius (a. d. |463) that the cycle of nineteen years obtained a permanent footing. This prelate employed Victorinus of Aquitain to correct the calendar, and Victorinus actually con- structed the cycle of 532 years, or of 28 Metonic cycles. When Dionysius Exiguus (a. d. 530) altered the mode of reckoning, and abandoned the Diocletian era in favom* of what he supposed to be the year of the birth of Christ, he adjusted the mode of reckoning employed by Victorinus accord- ingly, and the cycle of the latter has ever since been called Dionysian. Owing to the disturbed state of Britain at this time through the invasion of the Saxons, the Irish and British Christians were unac- quainted with the latter improvement; but had continued to iise the ancient but incor- rect cycle of eighty-four years, most probably that of Severus Sulpitius, a monk of Gaul, Avho flourished a. d. 400. This is the reason which Bede assigns for their adhesion to the old method. " They followed uncertain rules in their observance of the great festival, as having none to bring them the synodal de- APPENDIX. 187 crees for the observance of Easter, by reason of their being so far away from the rest of the world; wherefore they only practised such works of piety and chastity as they could learn from the prophetical, evangelical, and ai^ostolical ^vi'itings. This manner of keeping Easter continued among them for the sjiace of 150 years, till a. d. 716. But then the most reverend and holy father and priest, Egberht, of the English nation, who had long lived in banishment in Ireland for the sake of Christ, and was most learned in the scriptures, and renowned for long perfection of life, came among them, corrected their error, and reduced them to the true and canonical day of Easter; the which they nevertheless did not always keep on the fourteenth day of the moon with the Jews, as some imagined, but on Sunday, although not in the proper week." (lib. iii. c. 4.) Some further particulars respecting the paschal controversy may be found in Dr. Smith's Appendix to Bede's Ecclesiastical History (No. IX.), who observes, that "the controversy on the Easter question had nothing to do with faith and soundness of belief, belong- ing, as it did, to discipline alone ; and that it ought to be particularly borne in mind, that those who think that the Britons were taught the paschal rite by the Orientals, or Eastern church, and not by the Roman and the Western chiu'ch, give way to a very great error." No. YlII.—Fac/e 157. Extracts from St. Gregory's Epistles on the title of " Universal Bishop." Gregory to John, Bishop of Constantinople. At that time when your fraternity was ad- vanced to the sacerdotal honour, it recollects how great was the peace and concord of the churches which it found. But by some daring pride or other it hath endeavoured to usurp a new name, from whence the hearts of all the brethren might come to scandal. At which matter I wonder exceedingly, inasmuch as I remember that thou wert willing to fly in order that thou mightest not attain to the bishopric which nevertheless thou desirest so to exercise when acquired, as if thou hadst run to it \vith ambitious desire; seeing that thou didst confess thyself unworthy that thou shouldest be called bishop, and when thou hast arrived at this, covetest to be called the only bishop, thy brethren being despised. And indeed concerning this matter grave writings of my predecessor of holy memory, Pelagius, have been transmitted to your holi- ness; in which he dissolves the acts of the Synod formerly held among you on the cause of our brother and fellow bishop, Gregory, because of the wicked word of elation, and prohibited the archdeacon whom according to custom he had sent over to the footsteps of the Lords, to celebrate the solemnity of the missal among .you. But after his death since I unworthy was raised to the government of the Chiu-ch, I have taken care to address your fraternity both before through others my responsals and now through the common son Labinianus, the dea- con, that it should restrain itself from such presumption, not indeed in written but in oral discourse Consider, I pray, because 1! APPENDIX. in this rash presumption the peace of the whole Church is disturbed, and a contradiction is given to the grace poured out in common to all. In which, namely, thou shalt be able to increase so much, as thou shalt have decreased in thy own regard. And thou art rendered so much the greater, by how much thou restrainest thyself from the usurpation of a proud and foolish word. And thou ad- vancest in proportion as thou strivest not to arrogate to thyself by derogating from thy brethren. Thereforel ove humility, most dear brother, with all thy heart, whereby the concord of all the brethren and the unity of the universal church may be preserved. Assuredly Paul the Apostle when he heard some men say : " I am of Paul ; and I of Apollos; and I of Cephas," in horror ex- claimed most vehemently against this dilace- ration of the Lord's body, saying " Was Paul crucified for you ? or were ye baptized in the name of Paul V If he therefore avoided subjecting the members of the Lord's body to certain heads as it were out of the church, and even to the apostles themselves, what wilt thou say to Christ the Head of the universal church in the examination of the last judgment, who endeavourest to subject all his members to thyself by the appella- tion of Universal ? Who, I ask, is proposed for imitation in this so perverse a word, but he who despising the legions of angels socially constituted with himself, endea- voured to burst forth to the pinnacle of singularity, that he might seem to be subject to no one, and alone to preside over all ?* " That the innovation in the style vvas not much in the quantity and alphabet; but the bulk of the iniquity was weighty enough to sink and destroy all. And therefore I am bold to say, that whoever uses or affects the * Ei)ist. Grcgor. lib. v. ep. IS. t Epist. Gregor style of Universal Bishop, has the pride and chtira.ter of antichrist, and is in some mea- sure his harbinger in this haughty quality of mounting himself above the rest of his Order. And indeed both the one and the other seem to split upon the same rock. For, as pride makes antichrist strain his pretensions up to Godhead; so, whoever is ambitious to be called the Only or Universal Prelate, pre- fers himself to a distinguishing superiority, and rises as it were upon the ruins of the rest."-|- In his letter to Anastatius, bishop of Antioch, he has these words upon the same subject. " Cyriacus and myself can never be made friends, and come to any good under- standing, unless he is willing to give up the vanity and usurpation of his style. This is a point of the last importance, neither can we comply with the innovation, without betraying religion, and adulterating the faith of the Catholic Church. For, not to mention the invasion upon the honoiu' of your character, if any one Bishop must have the title of Universal, if that Universal Prelate should happen to miscan-y, the whole Church must sink with him," &c.J In his letter to Eulogius, bishop of Alex- andria, we have more to the same pur- pose. Here St. Gregory complains to this Patriarch for saluting him with the title of Universal Bishop in his superscription. " I beg of you (says he) not to salute me in such language for the future; for, by giving another more than belongs to him, you lessen yourself. As for me, I am but a brother of the order, neither do I desire to flourish in respect, but in l)ehaviour: nor do I reckon that an honour to myself, which is paid me at the expense and j)rejudice of my brethren. My reputation lies in the honour of the Uni- versal Church, and in preserving the dignity lib. vi. ep. 30. ± Epi.-^t. Gregor. lib. vi. ep. 24. APPENDIX. 189 of the rest of the prelates. I am only then respected to my satisfaction, when every one else has the privileges of his character se- cured to him. Now, if your holiness [for so he calls the Patriarch of Alexandria] treats me ^vith the title of Universal Bishop, you ex- clude yourself from an equality of privilege. But, pray, let us have none of this. Let us not feed our vanity with pompous appella- tions; for this is the way to weaken the grace of charity, and disserve us in our best quali- ties. Your holiness may remember, that this style of Universal Bishop was offered my predecessors by the Council of Chalcedon, and by some other Prelates several times since ; but none of them would ever receive the compliment, or make use of the title, but chose rather to maintain the honour of the whole episcopal college, — looking upon this as the best expedient to preserve themselves in the esteem of God Almighty."* * Gregor. Epist. lib. vii. ep. 30. No. IX. ROMAN EMPERORS. A. D. A.D Augustus, B. c. 30. 249 14 Tiberius. 251 38 Caligula. 253 41 Tib. Claudius. 54 Nero. 261 68 Galba, Otho, Vitellius. 70 Vespasian. 79 Titus. 268 81 Domitian. 270 96 Nerva. 275 98 Trajan. 276 117 Hadrian. 276 138 Antonius Pius. 282 161 Marcus Antoninus. 180 Commodus. 284 193 Pertinax. 193 Julianus. 305 193 L. Septimus Severus. 306 211 Caracalla. Opil. Macrinus. 218 Elagabalus. 222 Alexander Severus. 235 C. Julius Maximinus. 238 Gordianus. 243 Philippus. 337 C. Messius Decius. Trebonianus Gallus. P. Licinius Valerianus and Gallienus. GaJlienus(Macrianus, Va- lens, Calpurnius Piso, Aureolus) and Odenathus. M. Aurelius Claudius. L. Domitius Am-elianus. M. Claudius Tacitus. M. Annius Florianus. M. Aurelius Probus. Cams (Carinus and Nu- merianus). Diocletian and Maximi- anus. Constantius (Galerius). Constantine (Galerius, Se- verus, Licinius, or Max- iminus, Maxentius, Max- imianus, Constantinus, Constantius, Constans, Dalmatius, Annibalianus from 335). Constantius ( Constanti- A. D. nus, Constans, Magnen- tius) . 361 Julianus. 363 Flav. Jovianus. 364 Flav. Valentinianus, Va- lens (Procopius), Grati- anus, and Valentinianus the Younger. 378 Theodosius (Gratianus till 383, Valentinianus the Yomiger till 392, Magnus Clemens Maxi- mus, Arcadius from 383). 395 Honorius. 424 Joannes. 425 Valentinianus. 455 Maximus. 455 Avitus. 457 Majorianus. 461 Libius Severus. 467 Procopius Anthemius. 473 Glycerins. 474 Nepos. 475 Romulus Augustulus. 190 APPENDIX. BISHOPS OF ROME. IT/ie chronology of the earlier Bishops of Rome is often obscure, and the dates uncertain.] 66 SS. Peter & Paul. 68 Linus. Cletus. Clement 1. 100 Evaristus. 109 Alexander I. 119 Sixtus I. 127 Telesphorus. 138 Hyginus. 142 Pius I. 151 Anicetus. 168 Soter. 176 Eleiitherius. 192 Victor I. 201 Zephyrinus. 217 Calixtus. 222 Urban I. 230 Pontianus. 235 Anterus. 230 Fabianus. 250 Cornelius. 252 Lucius I. 253 Stephen I. 257 Sixtus II. 259 Dionysius. 270 Felix I. 275 Eutychianus. 283 Caius. 296 Marcellinus. 308 Marcellus. 310 Eusebius. 311 Melchiades, 314 Sylvester. 336 Marcus. 337 Julius I. 352 Liberius. 366 Damasus I. 384 Siricius. 398 Anastacius I. 401 Innocent I. 417 Zozimus. 418 Boniface I. 422 Celestinus I. 432 Sixtus III. 440 Leo the Great. 461 Hilarius. 467 Simplicius. 483 Felix III. A. i>. 492 Gelasius I. 496 Anastasius II. 498 Symniachus. 514 Ilomiisdas. 523 John I. 526 Felix IV. 530 Boniface II. 532 John II. 535 Agapetus I. 536 Sylverius. 540 Vigilius. 555 Pelagius I. 560 John III. 574 Benedict I. 578 Pelagius II. 590 Gregory the Great. ARCHBISHOPS OF ARLES, Furnished mostly on the authority of Petrus Saxiiis, Canon of Aries A. D. A. D. A. D. 60 Trophimus. 220 Hieronjtnus. 365 Evescentius. 80 Dionysius. 230 Savitius. 380 Concordius. 85 Regulus. 245 Marcianus. 392 Constantinus 106 Felicissimus. 258 Victor. 410 Heros. 120 Gratius. 270 Marinus. 422 Patroclus. 145 Ambrosius. 316 Martinus II. 426 Honoratus. 170 Martinus. 330 Nicasius. 438 Hilarius. 180 Ingenuus. 345 Valentinus. 449 Ravennius. 200 Augustinus. 354 Satuminus. 468 Leontius. A. D. 493 Eonius. 502 Cajsarius. 542 Auxanius. 546 Aurelianus. 556 Sabandus. 589 Suicerius. 591 Vergilius, who con- secrated St. Augustine, first Abp. of Canterbury ARCHBISHOPS OF LYONS, Extracted from the ivork of Jacobus Severtius on the Archbishops of Lyons. A. D. 130 Pothinus. 179 Ireufeus. 203 Zachiu-ius. 239 Melius. 254 J'austinus. 265 Verus. 269 Julius. 276 Ptolomajus. 304 Votius. 315 Maximus. 325 Tetraclius. 340 Verissinius. 368 Justus. 384 All)inus. 390 M