Crumbs from the Table

Rome began its outward expansion in the 200s BC. The first Roman colony was Sicily, conquered during the course of the First Punic war in 254 BC. Carthage was subsumed after three Punic wars, and Greece later likewise included in the ongoing expansion.  By the time of the late Roman Empire, from 284 AD, the Empire was divided into 4 Praetorian prefectures, totalling 15 or so civil dioceses:  Praetorian prefecture of the Gauls   Gallia (including, in part or in whole, areas of what is now Belgium, Germany, the Netherlands and Switzerland)  Vienennsis (southern, Romanised Gaul)  Hispania Britannia Praetorian prefecture of Italy & Africa Italia suburbicaria (around Rome) Italia annonaria (northern Italy) Africa (north Africa)  Praetorian prefecture of Illyricum (Balkans) Pannonia Dacia (modern-day Romania)  Macedonia (including modern-day Greece) Praetorian prefecture of Oriens (from Bulgaria across modern Turkey and down to the Levant and Egypt) ...

596/7 is the date when Gregory the Great, bishop of Rome, sent a mission to evangelise the pagan English (Angle, Saxon and Jute settlers in Britain). However, Christianity had been in Britain since the second century. This blog post is an attempt to present a chronicle of Christianity in Britain.  In 43 AD, under the Emperor Claudius, a large part of what is now England and Wales was annexed by the Roman Empire, and designated the province of Britannia . Roman towns included Londinium (London), Verulamium (St Alban's), Dubris (Dover), Isca Dumononiorum (Exeter), Lindum (Lincoln) and Eboracum (York).  The indigenous population of Roman Britain were Britons, speakers of the Brythonic language (Celtic branch of the Indo-European languages). There is archaeological evidence that Christianity was introduced to Roman Britain by the late 100s (second century). It is suspected that Christianity first arrived as a result of informal trade and other contacts between Gaul and Bri...