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Ethelbert of Kent (February 25™) was the
Anglo-Saxon king who received St. Augustine and his community of monks in 597 as
missionaries from Rome to England. At the time, he was not a Christian, but his
wife, Bertha, was of the faith (she had married Ethelbert on the condition that
she be allowed to practice her faith and have a chaplain).
Ethelbert offered a friendly,
though cautious, welcome to Augustine’s group. Soon after their arrival he gave
them a house in Canterbury and allowed them to preach and make converts. At
first, he was himself resistant, but ca. 601 he was baptized. He became a
vigorous and generous supporter of Augustine’s work. His conversion was decisive
for the spread of Christianity throughout all of England, encouraging the
re-emergence of the ancient Celtic Church in Britain and firmly establishing the
Roman missions.
While Augustine restored an
old church in Canterbury to make it his cathedral, Ethelbert built a monastery
for the monks. He then helped Augustine establish new dioceses in Rochester and
London, the principal Saxon towns in the region. It was Ethelbert himself who
founded St. Paul’s church in London, later to become St. Paul’s cathedral. He
also promulgated a code of laws the protected churches and clergy from harm,
provisions that greatly aided missionary efforts while enhancing the stature and
stability of the Church.
Ethelbert died on February 24,
616 and was buried alongside Bertha in the side chapel of the monastery church
he had built upon his conversion. Soon afterwards, Ethelbert was “unofficially”
venerated as a saint, and his feast day was finally established in the 1200’s.
From the time of his burial until the 1530’s a candle was kept burning at his
tomb, a practice that has been restored today. |
