The Portal Archive December 2012 | Page 17

THE P RTAL December 2012 Page 13 Rome and the Faith in England by Harry Schnitker Across the counties of Gloucestershire and Worcestershire runs the St Kenelm’s trail, a route frequently walked by Blessed John Henry Newman. Newman visited the remnants of this particular Anglo- Saxon saint’s shrine to remind him of the ancient links between the Church he joined and the country he loved. It was this close connection between country and faith that also led him to write his Lives of the English Saints. Englishness through the prism of faith It is, of course, an old theme; St Bede, the Anglo-Saxon historian, could only conceive of Englishness through the prism of faith, the Church being the only unifying force amongst the Anglo-Saxons when he wrote his Ecclesiastical History of the English Speaking Peoples. Later on, Kings of England from Richard II onwards, thought of England as the dower land of Our Lady. useful counterfoil commissioned by Pope Honorius I as missionary Bishop to the West Saxons. The varied background of St Birinus is fascinating. The role of the Franks is often underplayed when it comes to the conversion of the Anglo-Saxons. However, it is clear that the links with Gaul were substantial, and that the prestige conveyed upon the Church by its association with the powerful Merovingian Kingdom cannot be ignored. European links Such European links run all For Blessed John Henry Newman, the way to the Mediterranean; as, indeed, for the Ordinariate, consecrated in Genoa and this ancient association is a useful commissioned in Rome, the counterfoil to the Tudor idea that ancient reach of the Eternal City to the crown was the embodiment of the British Isles was regaining the England, and the Church which strength it had during the days of it led the personification of its St Birinus the Roman Empire. Now, however, people. Something much older it was a bond of faith rather than than this sixteenth-century tale existed, and Newman one of military occupation. rediscovered it in the Anglo-Saxon saints. In 634 St Birinus landed close to modern-day centrality of Rome for the Faith Southampton, managed to convert Cynegils, the What has all this to do with Reading, the focus of Wessex King, and was given Dorchester-on-Thames this month’s P ortal , you may ask? Well, in Reading we as his episcopal see. From there, St Birinus displayed discover something even deeper that tells us of the an extraordinary activity in spreading the Faith. He centrality of Rome for the Faith in England, and we do founded churches in Winchester, Abingdon and Ipsen. so through a saint venerated there for centuries. His links with Reading are but a reflection of his enormous Reading focus role in spreading the Faith throughout southern It was at Reading that much of this activity was England. His name was Birinus, which is hardly a focused, for he founded not only St Mary’s in Reading, household one, yet he deserves to be better known. but also SS Peter and Paul in Checkendon. The Marian dedication of the Reading church, one of several of St St Birinus Birinus’ foundations to carry that titular, is fascinating, St Birinus came from Gaul, now France, and was too. They are amongst the most ancient Marian born a Frank. He was consecrated Bishop in Genoa and churches north of the A lps.