The Anglo-Saxons were pagan goat bother'rs for centuries after invading Britain the indigenous population were Christian for centuries before the Anglo-Saxons invaded!
Christianity reached
Britain by the third century of the Christian era, possibly through merchants and tradesmen drawn to Roman settlements. The first recorded martyrs in Britain being
St. Alban and Aaron and Julius, citizens of Caerleon, during the reign of
Diocletian. The date of Alban's execution has been a subject of discussion among historians with
John Morris proposing that it took place during the persecutions of Emperor
Septimius Severus as early as 209.
[19] The
Anglo-Saxon Chronicles lists the year 283,
[20] and
Bede places it in 305. Still others argue that sometime during the persecutors
Decius or
Valerian (251-259) is more likely.
Gildas dated the faith's arrival to the latter part of the reign of
Tiberius. Initially, it was but one of a number of cults throughout the Empire which were practiced in provincial towns.
Christianisation intensified with the legalisation of the Christian religion under
Constantine in the early 4th century and its promotion by subsequent Christian emperors, but in 407 the Empire withdrew its legions from the province to defend Italy from
Visigothic attacks in which the city of Rome would be sacked in 410. The legions did not return to Britain permanently, and with the decline of Roman imperial political influence, Roman tax and army influence ended on the isle.
In 314, Bishop Restitutus, Bishop of London, attended the Council of Arles.
[21] Clerics such as
Germanus of Auxerre accused some British bishops of the heresy of
Pelagianism and sought their removal from office. Insular Christianity retained distinct traditions and practices through the era of
Church Councils.
Those who influenced the development of British Christianity include
Dubricius,
Petroc,
Ia and
Kentigern (also known as Mungo).