26/05/2026
9.00am Morning Prayer at St John's Church
1.30pm - 3.00pm Silent reading club at St Martin's chapel with refreshments
Today the church remembers Augustine who was the first Archbishop of Canterbury. Augustine was the prior of the monastery of St Andrew in Rome. In 596, at the instigation of Pope Gregory the Great, he was dispatched as the leader of a group of 40 monks to re-evangelise the English Church. Augustine appears to have been not a particularly confident person and in Gaul he wanted to turn back, but Pope Gregory's firm resolution held the group to their mission. The monks finally landed in Kent in the summer of 597 were they were well received by King Ethelbert whose wife, Bertha, was a Christian. Once established, Augustine returned temporarily to Gaul to receive ordination as a bishop. Pope Gregory would have preferred London to become the primatial See, but in the event Canterbury was chosen, and thus, Augustine became the first Archbishop of Canterbury. He died in either 604 or 605.
Almighty God,
whose servant Augustine was sent as the apostle
of the English people;
grant that as he laboured in the Spirit
to preach Christ's gospel in this land,
so all who hear the good news
may strive to make your truth known in all the world;
through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord,
who is alive and reigns with you,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever. Amen
