Light to the Isles

In AD 597, St Augustine arrived at Canterbury to preach the gospel to the heathen English. To celebrate the 1400th anniversary of his coming, this text looks at the context and legacy of his evangelism in the British Isles. The history of the evangelisation of England and of the Anglo-Saxon’s subsequent missionary expeditions elsewhere is well known, but this work concentrates on the theological perspective of the early English church. Exploring the minds and deeds of the Anglo-Saxon missionaries, topics include: Christianity in Roman Britain; the Celtic Church; the first generation of the Roman mission; the church in the north to AD 740 (School of York); the church in the south to AD 740 (Synod of Cloveshoe/Whitby); the Anglo-Saxon missions to Europe in the eighth-century. The first chapter examines the sources for students of the period and the last offers a theological retrospect. Reports of ethnic migrations and doctrinal disputes are provided alongside accounts of such figures as Martin of Tours, Columba, and Gregory the Great, apostle of the English .