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.