Was Lucius the first Christian King of Britain?
by Tim Dieppe, Christian Concern:
This year, the nation witnessed the first coronation of a monarch in 70 years: the only coronation in the lifetime of most observers.
It was striking that the coronation was in the context of a Christian act of worship, replete with very explicitly Christian liturgy, vows, and symbols. The whole ceremony obviously had ancient roots, reflecting the long heritage of Christianity in Great Britain. But just how long is that heritage?
It is widely believed that the first Christian King in Britain was King Ethelbert, who converted to Christianity shortly after the missionary Augustine of Canterbury (not to be confused with Augustine of Hippo) arrived from Rome in 597 AD. That gives Christianity a very long and distinguished history in these lands.
However, a strong case can be made that the first Christian king of Britain converted to Christianity some 400 years before King Ethelbert, and that Christianity has an even longer heritage and influence in this country than is generally recognised.
Christianity in Britain before Augustine
Solid evidence for the prevalence of Christianity in Britain prior to the visit of Augustine comes from the fact that the British church sent three bishops to the first Council of Arles in 314 AD.[1] The Church in Roman Britain must have been well established and widely recognised by then to send three bishops to this gathering.
Prior to that, church father Tertullian, writing around 200 AD, said that the “haunts of the Britons” were “inaccessible to the Romans, but subjugated to Christ.”[2] This provides evidence that Christianity was known to be established in Britain by the end of the second century.
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