by Bede
But after the death of Ethelbert, the accession of his son Eadbald proved very harmful to the still tender growth of the new Church; for he not only refused to accept the faith of Christ, but was also defiled with such fornication, as the Apostle testifies, as is not so much as named among the Gentiles, that one should have his father’s wife. By both which crimes he gave occasion to those to return to their former uncleanness, who, under his father, had, either for favour or fear of the king, submitted to the laws of the faith and of a pure life. Nor did the unbelieving king escape without the scourge of Divine severity in chastisement and correction; for he was troubled with frequent fits of madness, and possessed by an unclean spirit. The storm of this disturbance was increased by the death of Sabert, king of the East Saxons, who departing to the heavenly kingdom, left three sons, still pagans, to inherit his temporal crown. They immediately began openly to give themselves up to idolatry, which, during their father’s lifetime, they had seemed somewhat to abandon, and they granted free licence to their subjects to serve idols. And when they saw the bishop, whilst celebrating Mass in the church, give the Eucharist to the people, filled, as they were, with folly and ignorance, they said to him, as is commonly reported, “Why do you not give us also that white bread, which you used to give to our father Saba (for so they were wont to call him), and which you still continue to give to the people in the church?” To whom he answered, “If you will be washed in that font of salvation, in which your father was washed, you may also partake of the holy Bread of which he partook; but if you despise the laver of life, you can in no wise receive the Bread of life.” They replied, “We will not enter into that font, because we know that we do not stand in need of it, and yet we will be refreshed by that bread.” And being often earnestly admonished by him, that this could by no means be done, nor would any one be admitted to partake of the sacred Oblation without the holy cleansing, at last, they said, filled with rage, “If you will not comply with us in so small a matter as that which we require, you shall not stay in our province.” And they drove him out and bade him and his company depart from their kingdom. Being driven thence, he came into Kent, to take counsel with his fellow bishops, Laurentius and Justus, and learn what was to be done in that case; and with one consent they determined that it was better for them all to return to their own country, where they might serve God in freedom of mind, than to continue to no purpose among barbarians, who had revolted from the faith. Mellitus and Justus accordingly went away first, and withdrew into the parts of Gaul, intending there to await the event. But the kings, who had driven from them the herald of the truth, did not continue long unpunished in their worship of devils. For marching out to battle against the nation of the Gewissi, they were all slain with their army. Nevertheless, the people, having been once turned to wickedness, though the authors of it were destroyed, would not be corrected, nor return to the unity of faith and charity which is in Christ.
CHAP. 6
Cum uero et Laurentius Mellitum Iustumque secuturus ac Brittaniam esset relicturus, iussit ipsa sibi nocte in ecclesia beatorum apostolorum Petri et Pauli, de qua frequenter iam diximus, stratum parari; in quo, cum post multas preces ac lacrimas ad Dominum pro statu ecclesiae fusas ad quiescendum membra posuisset, atque obdormisset, apparuit ei beatissimus apostolorum princeps, et multo illum tempore secretae noctis flagellis artioribus afficiens sciscitabatur apostolica districtione, quare gregem, quem sibi ipse crediderat, relinqueret, uel cui pastorum oues Christi in medio luporum positas fugiens ipse dimitteret.’ ‘An mei,’
inquit, ‘oblitus es exempli, qui pro paruulis Christi, quos mihi in indicium suae dilectionis commendauerat, uincula, uerbera, carceres, adflictiones, ipsam postremo mortem, mortem autem crucis, ab infidelibus et inimicis Christi ipse cum Christo coronandus pertuli?’ His beati Petri flagellis simul ex exhortationibus animatus famulus Christi Laurentius mox mane facto uenit ad regem, et, retecto uestimento, quantis esset uerberibus laceratus, ostendit. Qui multum miratus et inquirens, quis tanto uiro tales ausus esset plagas infligere; ut audiuit, quia suae causa salutis episcopus ab apostolo Christi tanta esset tormenta plagasque perpessus, extimuit multum; atque anathematizato omni idolatriae cultu, abdicato conubio non legitimo, suscepit fidem Christi, et baptizatus ecclesiae rebus, quantum ualuit, in omnibus consulere ac fauere curauit.
Misit etiam Galliam, et reuocauit Mellitum ac Iustum, eosque ad suas ecclesias libere instituendas redire praecepit; qui post annum, ex quo abierunt, reuersi sunt; et Iustus quidem ad ciuitatem Hrofi, cui praefuerat, rediit; Mellitum uero Lundonienses episcopum recipere noluerunt, idolatris magis pontificibus seruire gaudentes. Non enim tanta erat ei, quanta patri ipsius regni potestas, ut etiam nolentibus ac contradicentibus paganis antistitem suae posset ecclesiae reddere. Uerumtamen ipse cum sua gente, ex quo ad Dominum conuersus est, diuinis se studuit mancipare praeceptis. Denique et in monasterio beatissimi apostolorum principis ecclesiam sanctae Dei genetricis fecit, quam consecrauit archiepiscopus Mellitus.
Chap. VI.
How Laurentius, being reproved by the Apostle Peter, converted King Eadbald to Christ; and how the king soon recalled Mellitus and Justus to preach the Word. [617-618 a.d.]
Laurentius, being about to follow Mellitus and Justus, and to quit Britain, ordered his bed to be laid that night in the church of the blessed Apostles, Peter and Paul, which has been often mentioned before; wherein having laid himself to rest, after he had with tears poured forth many prayers to God for the state of the Church, he fell asleep; in the dead of night, the blessed chief of the Apostles appeared to him, and scourging him grievously a long time, asked of him with apostolic severity, why he was forsaking the flock which he had committed to him? or to what shepherd he was leaving, by his flight, Christ’s sheep that were in the midst of wolves? “Hast thou,” he said, “forgotten my example, who, for the sake of those little ones, whom Christ commended to me in token of His affection, underwent at the hands of infidels and enemies of Christ, bonds, stripes, imprisonment, afflictions, and lastly, death itself, even the death of the cross, that I might at last be crowned with Him?” Laurentius, the servant of Christ, roused by the scourging of the blessed Peter and his words of exhortation, went to the king as soon as morning broke, and laying aside his garment, showed the scars of the stripes which he had received. The king, astonished, asked who had presumed to inflict such stripes on so great a man. And when he heard that for the sake of his salvation the bishop had suffered these cruel blows at the hands of the Apostle of Christ, he was greatly afraid; and abjuring the worship of idols, and renouncing his unlawful marriage, he received the faith of Christ, and being baptized, promoted and supported the interests of the Church to the utmost of his power.
He also sent over into Gaul, and recalled Mellitus and Justus, and bade them return to govern their churches in freedom. They came back one year after their departure, and Justus returned to the city of Rochester, where he had before presided; but the people of London would not receive Bishop Mellitus, choosing rather to be under their idolatrous high priests; for King Eadbald had not so much authority in the kingdom as his father, and was not able to restore the bishop to his church against the will and consent of the pagans. But he and his nation, after his conversion to the Lord, sought to obey the commandments of God. Lastly, he built the church of the holy Mother of God, in the monastery of the most blessed chief of the Apostles, which was afterwards consecrated by Archbishop Mellitus.
CHAP. 7
Hoc enim regnante rege beatus archiepiscopus Laurentius regnum caeleste conscendit, atque in ecclesia et monasterio sancti apostoli Petri iuxta prodecessorem suum Augustinum sepultus est die quarto Nonarum Februariarum; post quem Mellitus, qui erat Lundoniae episcopus, sedem Doruuernensis ecclesiae tertius ab Augustino suscepit. Iustus autem adhuc superstes Hrofensem regebat ecclesiam. Qui, cum magna ecclesiam Anglorum cura ac labore gubernarent, susceperunt scripta exhortatoria a pontifice Romanae et apostolicae sedis Bonifatio, qui post Deusdedit ecclesiae praefuit, anno incarnationis
dominicae DCXVIIII. Erat autem Mellitus corporis quidem infirmitate, id est podagra, grauatus, sed mentis gressibus sanis alacriter terrena quaeque transiliens, atque ad caelestia semper amanda, petenda, et quaerenda peruolans. Erat carnis origine nobilis, sed culmine mentis nobilior.
Denique, ut unum uirtutis eius, unde cetera intellegi possint, testimonium referam, tempore quodam ciuitas Doruuernensis per culpam incuriae igni correpta crebrescentibus coepit flammis consumi;
quibus cum nullo aquarum iniectu posset aliquis obsistere, iamque ciuitatis esset pars uastata non minima, atque ad episcopium furens se flamma dilataret, confidens episcopus in diuinum, ubi humanum deerat, auxilium, iussit se obuiam saeuientibus et huc illucque uolantibus ignium globis efferri. Erat autem eo loci, ubi flammarum impetus maxime incumbebat, martyrium beatorum IIII Coronatorum. Ibi ergo perlatus obsequentum manibus episcopus coepit orando periculum infirmus abigere, quod firma fortium manus multum laborando nequiuerat. Nec mora, uentus, qui a meridie flans urbi incendia sparserat, contra meridiem reflexus, primo uim sui furoris a lesione locorum, quae contra erant, abstraxit, ac mox funditus quiescendo, flammis pariter sopitis atque exstinctis, conpescuit. Et quia uir Dei igne diuinae caritatis fortiter ardebat, quia tempestates potestatum aeriarum a sua suorumque lesione crebris orationibus uel exhortationibus repellere consuerat, merito uentis flammisque mundialibus praeualere, et, ne sibi suisque nocerent, obtinere poterat.
Et hic ergo postquam annis quinque rexit ecclesiam, Aeodbaldo regnante migrauit ad caelos, sepultusque est cum patribus suis in saepe dicto monasterio et ecclesia beatissimi apostolorum principis, anno ab incarnatione Domini DCXXIIII, die VIII Kalendarum Maiarum.
Chap. VII.
How Bishop Mellitus by prayer quenched a fire in his city. [619 a.d.]
In this king’s reign, the blessed Archbishop Laurentius was taken up to the heavenly kingdom: he was buried in the church and monastery of the holy Apostle Peter, close by his predecessor Augustine, on the 2nd day of the month of February. Mellitus, who was bishop of London, succeeded to the see of Canterbury, being the third archbishop from Augustine; Justus, who was still living, governed the church of Rochester. These ruled the Church of the English with much care and industry, and received letters of exhortation from Boniface, bishop of the Roman Apostolic see, who presided over the Church after Deusdedit, in the year of our Lord 619. Mellitus laboured under the bodily infirmity of gout, but his mind was sound and active, cheerfully passing over all earthly things, and always aspiring to love, seek, and attain to those which are celestial. He was noble by birth, but still nobler by the elevation of his mind.
In short, that I may give one instance of his power, from which the rest may be inferred, it happened once that the city of Canterbury, being set on fire through carelessness, was in danger of being consumed by the spreading conflagration; water was thrown on the fire in vain; a considerable part of the city was already destroyed, and the fierce flames were advancing towards the bishop’s abode, when he, trusting in God, where human help failed, ordered himself to be carried towards the raging masses of fire which were spreading on every side. The church of the four crowned Martyrs was in the place where the fire raged most fiercely. The bishop, being carried thither by his servants, weak as he was, set about averting by prayer the danger which the strong hands of active men had not been able to overcome with all their exertions. Immediately the wind, which blowing from the south had spread the conflagration throughout the city, veered to the north, and thus prevented the destruction of those places that had been exposed to its full violence, then it ceased entirely and there was a calm, while the flames likewise sank and were extinguished. And because the man of God burned with the fire of divine love, and was wont to drive away the storms of the powers of the air, by his frequent prayers and at his bidding, from doing harm to himself, or his people, it was meet that he should be allowed to prevail over the winds and flames of this world, and to obtain that they should not injure him or his.
This archbishop also, having ruled the church five years, departed to heaven in the reign of King Eadbald, and was buried with his fathers in the monastery and church, which we have so often mentioned, of the most blessed chief of the Apostles, in the year of our Lord 624, on the 24th day of April.
CHAP. 8
Cui statim successit in pontificatum Iustus, qui erat Hrofensis ecclesiae episcopus. Illi autem ecclesiae Romanum pro se consecrauit episcopum, data sibi ordinandi episcopos auctoritate a pontifice Bonifatio, quem successorem fuisse Deusdedit supra meminimus; cuius auctoritatis ista est forma:
Dilectissimo fratri Iusto Bonifatius.
Quam deuote quamque etiam uigilanter pro Christi euangelio elaborauerit uestra fraternitas, non solum epistulae a uobis directae tenor, immo indulta desuper operi uestro perfectio indicauit.
Nec enim omnipotens Deus aut sui nominis sacramentum, aut uestri fructum laboris deseruit, dum ipse praedicatoribus euangelii fideliter repromisit: ‘Ecce ego uobiscum sum omnibus diebus usque ad consummationem mundi.’ Quod specialiter iniuncto uobis ministerio, eius clementia demonstrauit, aperiens corda gentium ad suscipiendum praedicationis uestrae singulare mysterium. Magno enim praemio fastigiorum uestrorum delectabilem cursum bonitatis suae suffragiis inlustrauit, dum creditorum uobis talentorum fidelissimae negotiationis officiis uberem fructum inpendens ei, quod signare possetis multiplicatis generationibus, praeparauit.
Hocque etiam illa uobis repensatione conlatum est, qua iniuncto ministerio iugiter persistentes laudabili patientia redemtionem gentis illius exspectastis, et uestris, ut proficerent, meritis eorum est saluatio propinata, dicente Domino: ‘Qui perseuerauerit usque in finem, hic saluus erit.’ Saluati ergo estis spe patientiae et tolerantiae uirtute, ut infidelium corda naturali ac superstitioso morbo purgata, sui consequerentur misericordiam Saluatoris. Susceptis namque apicibus filii nostri Adulualdi regis, repperimus, quanta sacri eloquii eruditione eius animum ad uerae conuersionis et indubitatae fidei credulitatem fraternitas uestra perduxerit. Qua ex re de longanimitate clementiae caelestis certam adsumentes fiduciam, non solum suppositarum ei gentium plenissimam salutem, immo quoque uicinarum, uestrae praedicationis ministerio credimus subsequendam;
quatinus, sicut scriptum est, consummati operis uobis merces a retributore omnium bonorum Domino tribuatur, et uere ‘per omnem terram exisse sonum eorum, et in fines orbis terrae uerba ipsorum,’
uniuersalis gentium confessio, suscepto Christianae sacramento fidei, protestetur.
Pallium praeterea per latorem praesentium fraternitati tuae, benignitatis studiis inuitati, direximus, quod uidelicet tantum in sacrosanctis celebrandis mysteriis utendi licentiam imperauimus;
concedentes etiam tibi ordinationes episcoporum, exigente oportunitate, Domini praeueniente misericordia, celebrare; ita ut Christi euangelium plurimorum adnuntiatione in omnibus gentibus, quae necdum conuersae sunt, dilatetur. Studeat ergo tua fraternitas hoc, quod sedis apostolicae humanitate percepit, intemerata mentis sinceritate seruare, intendens cuius rei similitudine tam praecipuum indumentum humeris tuis baiulandum susceperis. Talemque te Domini inplorata clementia exhibendum stude, ut indulti muneris praemia non cum reatitudine, sed cum commodis animarum ante tribunal summi et uenturi Iudicis repraesentes.
Deus te incolumem custodiat, dilectissime frater.
Chap. VIII.
How Pope Boniface sent the Pall and a letter to Justus, successor to Mellitus. [624 a.d.]
Justus, bishop of the church of Rochester, immediately succeeded Mellitus in the archbishopric. He consecrated Romanus bishop of that see in his own stead, having obtained authority to ordain bishops from Pope Boniface, whom we mentioned above as successor to Deusdedit: of which licence this is the form:
“Boniface, to his most beloved brother Justus. We have learnt not only from the contents of your letter addressed to us, but from the fulfilment granted to your work, how faithfully and vigilantly you have laboured, my brother, for the Gospel of Christ; for Almighty God has not forsaken either the mystery of His Name, or the frui
t of your labours, having Himself faithfully promised to the preachers of the Gospel, ‘Lo! I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world’; which promise His mercy has particularly manifested in this ministry imposed upon you, opening the hearts of the nations to receive the wondrous mystery of your preaching. For He has blessed with a rich reward your Eminence’s acceptable course, by the support of His loving kindness; granting a plentiful increase to your labours in the faithful management of the talents committed to you, and bestowing it on that which you might confirm to many generations. This is conferred on you by that recompense whereby, constantly persevering in the ministry imposed upon you, you have awaited with praiseworthy patience the redemption of that nation, and that they might profit by your merits, salvation has been bestowed on them. For our Lord Himself says, ‘He that endureth to the end shall be saved.’ You are, therefore, saved by the hope of patience, and the virtue of endurance, to the end that the hearts of unbelievers, being cleansed from their natural disease of superstition, might obtain the mercy of their Saviour: for having received letters from our son Adulwald, we perceive with how much knowledge of the Sacred Word you, my brother, have brought his mind to the belief in true conversion and the certainty of the faith. Therefore, firmly confiding in the long-suffering of the Divine clemency, we believe that, through the ministry of your preaching, there will ensue most full salvation not only of the nations subject to him, but also of their neighbours; to the end, that as it is written, the recompense of a perfect work may be conferred on you by the Lord, the Rewarder of all the just; and that the universal confession of all nations, having received the mystery of the Christian faith, may declare, that in truth ‘Their sound is gone out into all the earth, and their words unto the end of the world.’
“We have also, my brother, moved by the warmth of our goodwill, sent you by the bearer of these presents, the pall, giving you authority to use it only in the celebration of the Sacred Mysteries; granting to you likewise to ordain bishops when there shall be occasion, through the Lord’s mercy; that so the Gospel of Christ, by the preaching of many, may be spread abroad in all the nations that are not yet converted. You must, therefore, endeavour, my brother, to preserve with unblemished sincerity of mind that which you have received through the kindness of the Apostolic see, bearing in mind what it is that is represented by the honourable vestment which you have obtained to be borne on your shoulders. And imploring the Divine mercy, study to show yourself such that you may present before the tribunal of the Supreme Judge that is to come, the rewards of the favour granted to you, not with guiltiness, but with the benefit of souls.