Who brought Christianity to the British isles?

Answer 1

This is a hard one as there are so many claims to have been 'the first' to bring Christianity to the UK. St Augustine is recognised as the first person to really co-ordinate and spread Christianity among the residents of what is now known as the UK, in the early 600s, but despite his recognition, there were almost certainly pockets of Christianity throughout the country that were just co-ordinated and expanded by Augustine. St Columba - in the 500s AD is said to have brought Christianity to Britain, but he tended to concentrate his mission in the north of England and parts of modern day Scotland. Another contender is St Alban, a Roman who was martyred around 209AD. However, because of the lack of firm and corroborated evidence, his life is still rather shrouded in mystery. Even further back, Joseph of Arimathea, the rich merchant who owned the tomb in which Jesus was buried, and from which he resurrected, has legends associated with him in that he is said to have brought the Holy Grail - the cup used by Christ at the last suppe to Glastonbury England around AD 35-50, and along with it set up a Christian community in what is now Somerset. Evidence for this is very circumstantial in that the nearby Mendip Hills was definitely a Roman lead mining area (old workings can still be seen there) and therefore it would be reasonable to suggest that Joseph traded eastern spices, used by the Romans in the UK, for Mendip lead, used across the Empire. Furthermore, the Holy Glastonbury Thorn - a hawthorn tree said to be a descendent of a walking stick thrust into the ground by Joseph, and which took root, is only found in Glastonbury and the Holy Land. Joseph was even said to have brought the boy Christ to England on his travels as immortilised by Blake in his poem 'Jerusalem' "And did those feet in ancient time Walk upon England's mountains green..." However, these are only legends. The trouble is that unlike some documents (like the works of Josephus, Tacitus, the Emperor Claudius, the four gospels, Acts and Paul's letters) many of the events of those so called 'Dark Ages' are still shrouded in mystery and reliable documentation is very scarce. Therefore, it is very difficult to ascertain just when Christianity came to Britain, as. the further back you go, the more unreliable the evidence.

Answer 2

St. Patrick