Christianity was present in Roman Britain from at least the third century until the end of the Roman imperial administration in the early fifth century, and continued in western Britain.
Religion in Roman Britain was generally polytheistic, involving multiple gods and goddesses. Christianity was different in being monotheistic or believing in only one deity. Christianity was one of several religions introduced to Britain from the eastern part of the empire, others being those dedicated to certain deities, such as Cybele, Isis, and Mithras.
After the collapse of Roman imperial administration, much of southern and eastern Britain was affected by the Anglo-Saxon migrations and a transition to Anglo-Saxon paganism as the primary religion. The Anglo-Saxons were later converted to Christianity in the seventh century and the institutional church reintroduced, following the Augustinian mission. There remained an awareness among Anglo-Saxon Christian writers like Bede that a Romano-British Christianity had existed. In fact, the Romano-British church existed continuously in Wales.
Evidence The archaeological evidence for Christianity in Roman Britain is not extensive, but the available evidence helps scholars determine the extent of the religion in this period. Determining whether an item was used in Christian or pagan symbolism and usage is not always straightforward, with the interpretation of such items often being speculative. This Christian material represents a "tiny proportion" of archaeological material recovered from Roman Britain.
Literary sources include the Ecclesiastical History of the English People by Bede, The Ruin of Britain by Gildas, British History attributed to Nennius, and hagiography, particularly The Life of Saint Germanus of Auxerre by Constantius of Lyon.
Context
Roman Britain was religiously diverse, with followers of the native Celtic religion, Roman religion, and imported eastern religions. These eastern cults included those of the deities Isis, Mithras, and Cybele. Christianity was just one of these eastern cults. Christianity was an offshoot of Judaism, but there is no direct evidence that Judaism was practised in Roman Britain.
These separate religious traditions developed into a hybrid Romano-Celtic religion through cultural mixing. Indigenous deities and Roman counterparts were sometimes syncretised, like Apollo-Cunomaglus and Sulis-Minerva. Romano-British temples were sometimes erected at older, pre-Roman cultic sites. A new style of Romano-Celtic temple developed that was influenced by both Iron Age and imperial Roman architectural styles but was also unique. Buildings in this style remained in use until the 4th century.
People typically believed in a wide range of gods and goddesses. They worshipped several of them, likely selecting some local and tribal deities and some of the major divinities venerated across the Empire. The archaeologist Martin Henig suggested that to "sense something of the spiritual environment of Christianity at this time", it would be useful to imagine India, where Hinduism, "a major polytheistic system", remains dominant, and "where churches containing images of Christ and the Virgin are in a tiny minority against the many temples of gods and goddesses".
Chronology
2nd and 3rd centuries According to Pseudo-Hippolytus and St. Dorotheus of Tyre, the first bishop in Britain was Aristobulus of Britannia.Pseudo-Hippolytus. "Church Fathers: On the Apostles and Disciples". New Advent.Smithett Lewis, Lionel (1955). St Joseph of Arimathea at Glastonbury. London: James Clarke & Co.
Modern scholars, however, do not know precisely when Christianity arrived in Roman Britain. The province experienced a constant influx of people from across the empire, some of whom were Christians. There is a difference between transient Christians who may have arrived in Britain and a settled, Romano-British Christian community. Historian Dorothy Watts suggested that Christianity was perhaps introduced to Britain in the latter part of the 2nd century.
Around 200, the Carthaginian theologian Tertullian included Britain in a list of places reached by Christianity in his work, Adversus Judaeos. His contemporary, the Greek theologian Origen also wrote that Christianity had reached Britain. The accuracy of these statements can be questioned given that both writers had a strong rhetorical aspect to their work, which was designed to glorify what was still an illegal and underground religious movement. It is nevertheless possible that Tertullian and Origen were basing their statements on some reality.
Christianity experienced slow and steady growth in the empire during the 3rd century. However, the number of British Christians was probably small, and it is unlikely there was any extensive church organisation before the 4th century. In the mid-3rd century, there was an intensification of the persecution of Christians, particularly under the Emperors Decius () and Valerian (). These waves of persecution may have impacted the Christian community in Britain. It is possible that Saints Alban, Julius and Aaron, three Romano-British martyrs mentioned in early medieval sources, were killed at this time. In 260, the Emperor Gallienus issued an edict that decriminalised Christianity, allowing the church to own property as a corporate body.
4th and 5th centuries
The most severe persecution of Christians by the empire began in 303 under Diocletian (). Nevertheless, it appears that British Christians suffered less during the Diocletianic Persecution than Christians elsewhere. In 313, the Western Roman Emperor Constantine and Eastern Roman Emperor Licinius issued the Edict of Milan, putting an end to the persecution of Christians in the empire.
The Christian church in the Roman Empire based its organisation on Roman provinces. The church in each city was led by a bishop, and the chief city of the province was led by a metropolitan bishop. In 314, Constantine called the Council of Arles, the first church council summoned by a Roman emperor. The council condemned Donatism and agreed to follow the Roman church's method of calculating the date for Easter. The British bishops in attendance were Eborius from Eboracum (York), Restitutus from Londinium (London), and Adelfius possibly from Lindum Colonia (Lincoln). These cities were provincial capitals, and the bishops were likely metropolitans with authority over the other bishops in their provinces. The presence of the three bishops indicates that by the early 4th century, the British Christian community was organised on a regional basis and held a distinct episcopal hierarchy.
The names of several Romano-British bishops have also been found in inscriptions on archaeological finds. On the Risley Park Lanx is a fragmentary inscription stating "Bishop Exuperius gave [this] to..." A lead salt-pan from Shavington, Cheshire also contains a Latin inscription which likely related "Of Viventius, the bishop...".
The British church was affected by the Arian controversy, but it appears that the British bishops were united against Arianism. While no British bishops attended the First Council of Nicaea in 325, considered the first ecumenical council, British churchmen were present at other councils called to settle the controversy. According to Athanasius, the Patriarch of Alexandria, British bishops attended the Council of Serdica in 343. However, the council records do not indicate any British bishops were present; for this reason, historian Richard Sharpe argued that Athanasius was inaccurate. The Gallo-Roman chronicler Sulpicius Severus claimed that at least three bishops from Britain were in attendance at the Council of Ariminum in 359. Emperor Constantius II offered lodging at public expense, but most bishops refused, except for the British. This suggests that the British church was either poor or numerically small.
By the 4th century, there were probably Romano-British families split by their religious allegiance; some Christian, others following pagan religions. Some individuals may have oscillated between the two. By the second half of the 4th century, Christians held several senior administrative posts within the government of the civil diocese. The Roman poet Ausonius corresponded with Flavius Sanctus, the Christian governor of one of the British provinces.
In 391, Emperor Theodosius banned all pagan religions throughout the empire, with Christianity now the official religion. Theodosius' decree would probably have impacted Britain and been acted upon by the provincial administration. Martin Henig suggested that by the end of the 4th century, "a large proportion of British society, however materially impoverished," was Christian.
Several prominent Christians were Romano-British by birth. Pelagius, the originator of Pelagianism, was likely born in Britain in the second half of the 4th century, although lived most of his life in continental Europe. Saint Patrick was also born in Britain to a family who had been Christians for at least three generations. His Confessio of St Patrick is the only surviving written testimony that was written by a Romano-British Christian, although mostly discusses his time in Ireland rather than Britain. In the 470s, Apollinaris Sidonius, the Bishop of Clermont, wrote to Faustus, Bishop of Riez, referring to the latter as having been British by birth.
There are various other surviving textual references attesting to the presence of Christianity in late 4th and 5th century Britain. In the 390s, Victricius, the Bishop of Rouen, travelled to Britain and in his De Laude Sanctorum referred to a priesthood existing there. Another Gaulish bishop, Germanus of Auxerre, was sent to Britain by Pope Celestine I in 429, there to deal with a bishop named Agricola who was promoting Pelagianism. The Life of Saint Germanus refers to the bishop visiting Britain for a second time, this time with a Bishop Severus, in the last year of his life, although the precise year is not known.
5th and 6th century survivals
Many archaeologists believe that the end of Roman life in Britain occurred swiftly during the first three decades of the fifth century. This event was followed by the Anglo-Saxon migration, during which linguistically Germanic communities from modern Denmark and northern Germany settled in Britain, forming the cultural area now known as Anglo-Saxon England. Archaeologists tend toward the view that this transition from Romano-British to Anglo-Saxon culture was piecemeal and gradual, rather than the result of a sudden conquest.
Textual sources suggest that the Christian communities established in the Roman province survived in Western Britain during the fourth, fifth, and sixth centuries. This Western British Christianity proceeded to develop on its own terms. In the 540s, Gildas was condemning British bishops. During the twentieth century, various scholars of Western British Christianity avoided explanations of Romano-British survival and instead sought to trace the origins of Christianity in this part of Europe to sea routes. The first to challenge this assumption was Jocelyn Toynbee, who argued that Romano-British Christianity was in fact the parent of what she termed "the so-called Celtic Church" of Western Britain.
In the late sixth century, the Pope ordered that Augustine of Canterbury lead the Gregorian Mission to convert the Anglo-Saxons to Christianity. According to the writings of the later monk Bede, these Augustinian missionaries utilised an old Romano-British church that had been dedicated to St Martin and gained permission from the Kentish king to restore several pre-existing churches. The survival of Romano-British churches in this period is also attested in other sources, like the Life of St Wilfrid.
Features
Church buildings