The English Church in the Middle AgesHunt, William
History
The English Church in the Middle Ages
Hunt, William
Church history -- Middle Ages, 600-1500; Great Britain -- Church history
Gregory organized the new Church, in the full belief that it would extend
over the whole island. He sent Augustin the "pall," a vestment denoting
metropolitan authority, and constituting the recipient vicar of the Pope.
Two metropolitan sees were to be established--the one at London, the
residence of the East Saxon King Saeberct, who reigned as sub-king under
AEthelberht, a crowded mart, and the centre of a system of roads; the other
at York, the capital of the old Roman province north of the Humber. Both
archbishops were to receive the pall, and to be of equal authority. At the
same time, the unity of the Church was ensured, for they were to consult
together and act in unison. Both the provinces were to be divided into
twelve suffragan bishoprics, and as the northern province took in the
country now called Scotland, they were of fairly equal size. This
arrangement was not to be carried out until after Augustin's death. As
long as he lived all the bishops alike were to obey him, and he was, we
may suppose, to continue to reside at Canterbury. Moreover, the clergy of
the Welsh or Britons were to be subject to him and to the future
archbishops of the English Church. Augustin endeavoured to persuade the
Welsh clergy to join him in preaching the Gospel to the Teutonic invaders,
and held a meeting with them at or near Aust, on the Severn. But they
refused to acknowledge his authority, or even to hold communion with him,
and would not give up their peculiar usages with respect to the date of
Easter and the administration of Baptism. At Augustin's request, Gregory
sent him a letter of instructions as to the government of the Church. It
bears witness to the Pope's largeness of mind. While morality and decency
were to be enforced, the archbishop was not bound strictly to follow the
Roman ritual; if he found anything that he thought would be helpful to his
converts in the Gallican or any other use, he might adopt it, and so make
up a use collected from various sources.
[Sidenote: Causes of its failure.]
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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