Drama of The Lost Disciples - ST. PAUL'S MISSION IN BRITAIN

ST. PAUL'S MISSION IN BRITAIN



SINCE the beginning of time when the peoples of the earth

amalgamated into kingdoms, the pages of history are filled with

the spectacular conquests of ambitious kings and mighty Caesars

who, by military subjection, built mighty empires to their name.

Backed by powerful, organized armies, with the wealth and

resources of the nation behind them, the conquerors slaughtered

and trampled underfoot the peoples of other nations whose only

offence was to defend their land and homes.

Even as history extols their despotic fame it writes their

pitiful obituary, exemplifying the words Jesus spoke in rebuke to

Peter when he had slashed the ear off an offending servant's head

with his sword: "All they that take the sword shall perish with

the sword."

History books are the graveyard of military dynasties which

rose and fell by the sword to satiate the ambitious greed of so

many murderous conquerors. Such is the record of Empire,

thousands of years before Christ, and in the two thousand years

that have followed.



In comparison, imagination is staggered as we contemplate

the achievements of that handful of apostles and disciples who

first stood for Christ.



Penniless, suffering poverty, incarcerated, tortured, exiled

and without a weapon in their hands, each stood alone in the

midst of imperial hostility as they conquered the world for

Christ, a conquest that has endured and thrived for two thousand

years. Empires have come and gone with the flag of Christ waving

over their dust as majestically as the day it was unfurled when

the British armies, led by Guiderius and Arviragus, defeated the

Romans in the first battle of the Claudian campaign, A.D. 43.

Thus are the words of Jesus vindicated. Yet, in spite of the

glaring truth, a major portion of the world today, more than

ever, believes the sword is mightier than the Word. We see it as

the Communistic regime seeks to bring the rest of the world under

their tyrannical heel of slavery. Despite their faults and

frequent backsliding for two thousand years it has been the

Christian Anglo/Saxon world that has stood against the evils of

material despotism and won. Often alone and overwhelmingly

outnumbered, they have fought for the freedom of man's spirit

wherever it was challenged.

God has said, 'Ye are My people. Ye shall not perish from

the face of the earth.' In the same breath God warns us that we

shall be scourged with rods for our backsliding, meaning that we

shall pay a price for our waywardness. We shall be punished with

Pearl Harbours and Dunkirks. Then He says, when we are on the

verge of disaster He will 'put hooks in their jaws and turn them

back' so that we may triumph.

What a bitter price we unnecessarily will pay.

Read carefully the reports written by our great commanders

in battle who could report no other explanation for victory, when

all seemed lost, but a miracle.



The Third World War is bound to come. Win we shall, but at a

price. We have asked for it. The punishment can be minimized if

we but open our ears and hearts to the Word of God and our

Saviour Jesus Christ; if we will but listen to the words of the

apostles and disciples of our Lord, as our forefathers did in

ancient Britain, and gird ourselves with the strength of divine

promise, as they did.



St. Paul laboured among the Gentiles to fulfil the promise

which James said Simeon had declared, that God would take a

people out of the Gentiles for His name, who would keep His Word,

His Laws, and the Sabbath.

Are we those people? Scientists, scholars and ecclesiastics

think so. St. Paul certainly believed so. His coming to the first

Christian church at Rome implementing the British royal converts

was his triumph, to be culminated in his special mission to

Britain by other members of this same royal family of Christians.

Before he had gone to Rome he had sent his representative to

Britain, in Aristobulus, the father-in-law of St. Peter. He was

one of the original seventy elected by Christ and was the brother

of Barnabas. It was his wife on whom Jesus wrought the miracle as

recorded in St. Matthew's Gospel. In his epistles St. Paul sends

his greeting 'to the household of Aristobulus'. It is stated that

Aristobulus was in Britain before St. Paul wrote his epistle to

the Romans.

Aristobulus was ostensibly Paul's forerunner in Britain,

sent by the Apostle to the Gentiles to prepare the way for his

own particular mission, which was to follow later, and to be

separated from the Josephian Mission. In the preparatory stages

Aristobulus was associated with Joseph but never attached to the

mission at Avalon. He laboured in the part of Britain now known

as Wales. In those far-off centuries the whole island, now

divided into England, Scotland and Wales, was covered by the one

name - Britain. The brother of Barnabas was exclusively connected

with the most southern branch of the royal Silurians, the family

of Caractacus, in Wales. Previous to the coming of Aristobulus to

Wales, the father and grandfather of Caractacus had already

planted the Christian seed in their own particular domain. As we

have seen, when Joseph and his companions arrived in Britain,

A.D.36, Bran, the father of Caractacus, had abdicated his throne

in favour of his son in order to assume his office as Arch-Druid

of the Silures. His seat was at Trevnan, where Caractacus was

born, in the parish of Llan-Ilid, Glamorganshire. Llyr Llediath,

father of Bran, the King Lear of Shakespeare, founded the first

Christian church in Wales at Llandaff, after his conversion and

baptism by Joseph. On the merging of the Druidic with the

Christian faith all the members of the Bran-Caradoc dynasty were

converted by Joseph.

The Princess Eurgain, eldest daughter of Caractacus, was the

first to be baptized, and immediately following the order was her

grandfather, the Arch Druid Bran, her great-grandfather Llyr

Llediath, then her brother Linus, who later became the first

Bishop of Rome and then her husband Salog, Lord of Salisbury, all

at the hands of St. Joseph.

Her father Caractacus, and his son Cyllinus, who became

regent in his father's stead during the latter's captivity at

Rome, and Cynon the youngest son, were baptized in Rome by the

hands of St. Paul.

Of Cyllinus, it is interesting to note that during his reign

he is given credit for introducing into Britain the christening

of infants with Christian names. Prior to this the British

followed the old Hebrew method of naming a person by one name

only, and adding the word 'ab', meaning 'of', or 'son of.'

Tracing the lineage of a person under the old Hebrew principle

was a difficult matter.

Support for the credit given to Cyllinus is evidenced in the

following extract from the family genealogy as given by his

descendant, Jestyn ap Gwrgant, Prince of Glamorgan, in the

eleventh century:



"Cyllin ab Caradoc, a wise and just king, In his days many of the

Cymry embraced the faith in Christ through the teachings of the

saints of Cor-Eurgain, and many godly men from the countries of

Greece and Rome were in Cambria. HE FIRST of THE CYMRY GAVE

INFANTS NAMES; for before, names were not given except to adults,

and then from something characteristic in their bodies, minds or

manners."



The quotation in capitals is by the author to draw attention

to the historic fact. Incidentally, Cyllin and Caradoc are the

true Celtic names of father and son. Caractacus and Cyllinus are

the Roman versions.



All the children of Cyllinus were baptized in the faith. In

later years he also abdicated his throne, in favour of his

younger brother, Cynon. Like his grandfather, Bran, he took up

the Cross, becoming a priest in the Christian faith. In the

British Celtic Annals he is registered as St. Cyllinus.

Llyr Llediaith, the grandfather of Caractacus, was among the

group of royal captives taken to Rome, A.D.52. Shortly after the

famous trial of the British Pendragon before the Emperor Claudius

in the Roman Senate, Llyr died at Rome. His son Bran, being an

Arch Priest, was not subject to the surrender but, voluntarily,

on hearing of his father's death, offered himself as hostage in

place of the deceased Llyr. After the parole of his son,

Caractacus, he remained with the Silurian family, dwelling at the

Palace of the British in Rome. With the exception of the sons of

Caractacus, who had returned to Britain to take over the reins of

government, they were all residing in the Empire City when Paul

arrived, A.D.56. Then followed two years of instruction under St.

Paul of the royal group who were to establish his mission in

Britain. Aristobulus had journeyed to Rome from Britain to meet

Paul and plan the evangelizing commission. From years of former

service with Paul, Aristobulus was well acquainted with Paul's

intentions. He knew he was to be an important factor in this

great work among the selected Gentiles and his previous

experience in Britain had given the aged disciple a good insight

of the groundwork, most of which he personally had laid, with the

aid of Llyr, Bran and Joseph. Nevertheless Paul's mission was

designed to be distinctly separate from the Avalon Mission.

Perhaps herein lay the weakness, for Paul's mission to Gentile

Rome was not to endure.

While the royal house of Caractacus sponsored the mission,

it was Eurgain, the eldest daughter of Caractacus, who actually

was the chief sponsor, endowing the mission with munificent gifts

and lands.

In the year A.D.58 the Paulian mission was ready to leave

Rome

......



1 St. Prydain's Genealogy, which refers to Eurgain as the first

female saint of Britain.

......





to begin their work in Britain, in the territorial section known

as Cambria, the ancient name of the Caradoc domain now known as

Wales.

Only Caractacus was subject to the seven-year parole, the

rest of the British royal hostages were free to leave at any time

they wished. The record states that Bran, after being consecrated

by St. Paul at Rome, left one year before his son Caradoc, whose

parole did not expire until the following year, A.D.59. With Bran

went Aristobulus, who had been consecrated the first Bishop of

Britain by St. Paul, his sons Manaw, Brennus, Ilid and Cyndaw as

supporting missionaries. The last two named were Judeans. With

them was Eurgain and her husband Salog, Lord of Caer Salog, or

old Sarum, Salisbury. He is described as being a Roman patrician

who had married the daughter of Caractacus prior to the disaster

at Clune, A.D.52. Again we see a mingling of the Roman

aristocracy with the royal British.

They arrived at Llanilid (meaning 'consecrated enclosure'),

Glamorganshire, erecting a church as a memorial.

Eurgain is recorded as the Patroness of the Paulian Mission

at Llanilid, and for that reason it became more commonly known as

the Cor-Eurgain Mission. There she founded the first Cor, or

choir, and from that time onward it was considered the finest

choir in the world. This magnificent tradition has been continued

over the centuries in unbroken sequence by the Welsh, being the

basis of the world-famous Eisteddfod held every year by the

Druidical Order of Wales, when they congregate in Druidic costume

and ceremony to renew the glorious past with the present. There

the famous choirs can be heard singing by the descendants of

those courageous noble Christians. In the annual choir contests

held throughout the world the Welsh Eisteddfod has never lost

pride of place.

Once yearly, the famous Welsh choir visits the United States

and Canada where, in a series of recitals, their magnificent

voices delight and thrill all who hear them. Yet how little is it

known by the audiences that this wonderful choir is a distinct

link with St. Paul's mission to Britain nearly two thousand years

ago.

Aristobulus was installed as the first Bishop at Llanilid,

with Bran remaining as chief High Priest of Siluria at Llandaff.

In the Cymric language Aristobulus is known as Arwystli-Hen and

Arwystli-Senex. Hen is Celtic for aged, just as Senex is the

Roman term. 1

......



1 Triads, Mryuyrian Arch., vol.2.

......





Unfortunately, the aged Aristobulus was to meet with a

tragic end within a year of his return to Britain with his royal

companion. Unlike the Paulian Mission, which had come direct from

Rome, the Josephian Mission had come direct from Jerusalem. It

had no contact with Rome. Joseph also had the advantage of being

well known to the British by his former interests in the tin

mining of Cornwall and Devon. He was so well received by them

that he was considered as one of them. On the other hand, the

inveterate hatred of the British for Rome, and anything

associated with it, persisted with an unrelenting detestation.

Anything tinged with the Roman stigma was cause for grave

suspicion. The Blessed Bran, writing in his journals, said they

were hard put to induce the British to accept anyone or anything

that came from Rome. It was only their love for the devout Bran

and the lovely Eurgain, and their proud loyalty to Caractacus,

that made them willing to meet half-way the Roman religious

delegates. Aristobulus was well respected by the Silurians; he

had come to them from Jerusalem, through Spain, and was known to

be loved by Joseph and the Avalon band.

Aristobulus in his preaching zeal journeyed far beyond the

territory of the Silurian shield into the lands of the British

Ordovices, whose hatred for the Romans was bitter and black. This

blinded them to the facts, and he was unknown to them. Aware of

the many abuses the Romans had instigated against the Britons in

order to trick them into submission, they allied the presence of

the aged elder brother of Barnabas to some form of Roman

political treachery, in which religion played an hypocritical

part of the scheme. They rose and slew him, given as the year

A.D.58 or A.D.59, according to present reckoning. 1

Aristobulus was the first British bishop and the only one

martyred by them. St. Alban, however, was regarded by Rome as the

first British martyr at what was ancient Verulamium, still to be

seen thanks to archaeological restoration. A church existed in

Alban's time and, after his martyrdom, Offa, king of the

Mercians, founded the Monastery of St. Albans, to his memory, in

A.D.793, Roman bricks from ancient Verulamium being used in its

structure. The pre-Roman Belgae foundations, and the early

Christian witness, instituted a continuous worship in this spot.

Centuries later the Romish church criticized the British for

their great lack of martyrs as compared to their own record. The

leaders of the British church informed them that the disciples of

the British church lived to preach and teach the Gospel and not

die for it

......



1 Alford, Regia Fides, p.41.





unnecessarily. If their life had to be the only sacrifice, that

they would gladly give. We know they gave it abundantly, but at

the hands of the enemy and not by the hands of their own

countrymen except in this one tragic circumstance. It was well

known that the priests of the Roman church viewed martyrdom as a

notable, worthwhile gesture to such an extent they became

frantic. Many deliberately sought martyrdom before they had

achieved anything worth while.



There is another popular claimant to the honour of being the

first Christian martyr in Britain identified with the church of

St. Albans. It is a Christianized Roman soldier, named Alban,

during the Diocletian persecution in Britain two hundred and

fifty years later, who aided a hunted British priest to escape by

wearing his robe, drawing pursuit to himself. On being

recognized, the Roman officer ordered a soldier standing nearby

to execute the culprit. The soldier refused, admitting that he,

too, was a Christian, with the result that both soldiers were

immediately beheaded. Tradition claims they were buried together

on the spot where they were killed and a church erected on the

site was named St. Albans.



Alban was the first Christian Roman soldier martyred in

Britain by the Romans, but by no means the first Christian martyr

in Britain. All authentic records, including The Genealogies of

the Saints in Britain, name Aristobulus as the first of our

Lord's disciples martyred in Britain, with Simon Zelotes being a

second martyr shortly after. 1

The first church erected on the site of St. Albans was

built, as stated earlier, by the remorseful Ordovices to the

memory of Aristobulus. Following the death of the Roman soldier

Alban and his companion two hundred and fifty years later, the

old church was reconstructed, enlarged and renamed St. Albans, by

which it is known to this day.

Of the aged, beloved friend of St. Paul and father-in-law of

St. Peter, Aristobulus, there exists an abundance of authentic

records from which the following are quotations from the

original.

Cardinal Alford, who ranks second only to the erudite

Cardinal Baronius as an authoritative historian of the Vatican,

was one of the very few British ecclesiastics to achieve high

position in the Roman Catholic Church. He was a native-born

Briton whose original name was Griffiths. He changed his name to

Alford on joining the Jesuit Order. In fact one can look in vain

for the name of a British Pope during the years when the two

churches were

......



1 Dorotheus, Synod de Apostol.

......





somewhat in agreement. None would accept the office, definitely

refuting any mortal claim to being Christ's appointed Head of the

Church. Only He was the Headstone.



Alford writes:



"It is perfectly certain that before St. Paul had come to Rome,

Aristobulus was absent in Britain."



In the Martyrologies of the Greek Church we read:



"Aristobulus was one of the seventy disciples and a follower of

St. Paul the Apostle, along with whom he preached the Gospel to

the whole world, and ministered to them. He was chosen by St.

Paul to be the missionary bishop to the land of Britain. He was

there martyred after he had built churches and ordained deacons

and priests on the island."



Dorotheus, Bishop of Tyre, writes A.D.303:



"Aristobulus who is mentioned by the Apostle in his Epistle to

the Romans, was made Bishop in Britain."



Haleca, Bishop of Augusta, adds:



"The memory of many martyrs is celebrated by the Britons,

especially that of St. Aristobulus, one of the seventy

disciples."



In the Adonis Martyrologia we read:



"March 15. Natal day of Aristobulus, Bishop of Britain, brother

of St. Barnabas the Apostle, by whom he was ordained Bishop. He

was sent to Britain where, after preaching the truth of Christ

and forming a church, he received martyrdom."



The reference in the above to the ordination of Aristobulus

as Bishop by his younger brother Barnabas, was a much earlier

appointment and did not apply to Britain. Following this

ordination he first went into Britain, with Barnabas, as an

exploratory agent of St. Paul. The consecration conferred on

Aristobulus at Rome, as Bishop of Britain, came much later, A.D.

58.

Some may surmise that St. Paul's appointment of the aged

disciple was in conflict with St. Joseph's office and mission.

This is not so. Joseph is never referred to as Bishop of Britain.

His title is more outstanding as the Apostle of Britain. His

mission preceded the Paulian Mission under Aristobulus by

twenty-two years. The year following the demise of Aristobulus,

St. Philip reconsecrated Joseph as Chief Priest in Britain, A.D.

60.

The title, Bishop of Britain, was not again conferred on any

missionary who followed after Aristobulus.



Of his coming to Britain, the British Achau, or Genealogies

of the Saints, has this to say:



"There came with Bran the Blessed from Rome to Britain, Arwystli

Hen (Senex-old) Ilid. Cyndaw, men of Israel, and Maw, or Manaw,

son of Arwystli."



A district on the River Severn, in Montgomeryshire, from

time immemorial perpetuates the presence and name of Aristobulus

in the original Cymric vernacular - Arwystli.

The Greek Menology also gives March 15 as the day of the

martyrdom of Aristobulus.



Thus is established in brief form the positive evidence that

Aristobulus actually laboured and was slain in Britain,

corroborating the contention that St. Paul did establish a

working Christian mission in Britain.



The year of the death of the Bishop of Britain was the same

year that saw the end of the parole of Caractacus at Rome, A.D.

59. He said his farewell to his beloved youngest daughter,

Gladys, now Claudia Pudens, and to her noble husband, Rufus, and

their four children. The parting with his eldest son, Linus, now

the first Bishop of Rome, must have been sad, for war was still

raging in Britain, with his cousin, the valorous Arviragus,

carrying the assault against the greatest commanders in Roman

military history. The rest of his family had all returned to

Britain. The famed Palace of the British at Rome would no longer

house him. He had given it as a dowry to his daughter at her

marriage to Rufus Pudens, along with its magnificent estate and

baths. There is no record that he ever returned to Rome. That was

hardly possible. He had taken oath never to lift arms against the

Romans as long as he lived. This oath he kept, but he was still a

dominant figure in British authority and it is understandable

that any visits he may have wished to make to Rome may have been

misconstrued by either side. The mad Nero had succeeded the

Emperor Claudius in the Roman hierarchy, and Christian

persecution was blazing with renewed malice.



On his return to his native land he built a castle at Aber

Gweryd, now St. Donat's Major, in Glamorganshire. Unlike his

father, his grandfather, or his children, he did not take any

religious vows or office. It appears he aided his sons in

governing his people and strongly supported the Christian

movement without jeopardizing his oath. He ended his days

peaceably, dying a natural death. This noble Briton, who had

shaken Imperial foundations, was laid to rest by his wife, his

father Bran, and grandfather Llyr, in the Cor of Ilid in Siluria,

where later were to be gathered Cyllinus, Cynon, Eurgain and

Salog, all heroes in Christ, all of whom died a natural death in

the light and joy of their Lord.



Following the death of Aristobulus, the Princess Eurgain

became the chief influence in the Paulian Mission. The famous

Iolo MS. states that Eurgain founded twelve colleges of Christian

Druids for Culdee initiates at Caer Urgan, or Cor Eurgain. These

colleges she endowed bountifully, developing them to the highest

estate in theological learning. The greatness of Cor-Eurgain

endured for centuries after her death, the only great memorial to

endure to the testimony of St. Paul's Mission in Britain. From

here many of the greatest teachers and most able missionaries

flowed out in a constant stream, on into the tenth century. Her

love for music and excellent talent created the first Christian

choirs. Eurgain was as talented as her younger sister, Claudia,

and her famed aunt, Pomponia, writing hymns and anthems that rang

throughout the land in chants of praise and glory. Her attention

to the education of the young in the many schools she provided is

a noble record. The beautiful Princess Eurgain devoted her entire

wealth and life in the service of Christ. The records state that

she was the most beloved woman in Britain. Eurgain was the first

female convert in Britain and the first Christian female saint.

Her illustrious life is chronicled in the Genealogy of the Saints

in Britain, a beautiful woman, a noble princess, a shining star

in the diadem of Christ.



On the death of Aristobulus, Ilid, 'a man of Israel', who

had gone with Bran and Aristobulus to Cambria, took charge until

Paul arrived. Prior to his membership in the Paulian Mission

little is known of him except he was a Judean convert out of

Rome. In the Cymric Triads he is shown as a very capable,

energetic leader. His devout, efficient administration endeared

him to the Silures. He spent many years of his life in Cambria,

espousing the original plan St. Paul had conceived with the aged

Bran and Aristobulus. Financed by the royal Silurian family, and

by the personal efforts of the Princess Eurgain and her brother,

the abdicated Cyllinus, there was built a magnificent church and

university and many new schools in Cambria. The Iolo MS. says:



"He afterwards went to Glastonbury, where he died and was buried,

and Ina, king of that country, raised a large church over his

grave."



King Ina's church at Glastonbury Abbey, built A.D.700, was

excavated in recent years. By neglect it has since been covered.

It is interesting to note that he is numbered first on the long

list of Cambrian saints, listed in the Genealogy of the Saints in

Britain.



In some of the ancient records Ilid is claimed to have been

a son of the Decurian Joseph of Arimathea, the Apostle of the

British. The loss of his aged friend was a grievous blow to St.

Paul. He had sent his salutations to his friends at Rome,

including "the household of Aristobulus."



It is claimed that Paul landed at what is now a suburb of

the great naval port of Portsmouth, known over the ages and to

present time as 'Paul's Grove'. From there he evidently made his

way into Cambria, where it is claimed he founded the famous Abbey

of Bangor. The doctrine and administration of the Abbey was known

as Pauli Regula - 'The Rule of Paul'. Over each of its four gates

was inscribed his motto: 'If a man will not work, neither let him

eat.' All the Abbots that followed considered themselves as the

direct successors of Paul. Each was specially elected, was

usually of royal descent. It later developed into a monastery and

is named by St. Hilary and St. Benedict as the 'Mother of

Monasteries'. Its educational curriculum was of the highest

order, attracting thousands of scholars. Its membership is stated

by Bede to have risen to two thousand one hundred. Its twentieth

Abbot was the famous Pelagius who fought so strenuously against

the novel papal teachings. They described his defence of the

ancient British simple faith as the Pelagian Heresy.



It is doubtful if Paul stayed long enough in Britain to see

the famous Abbey of Bangor completed. He knew his time was short

and he sought to make the best use of it in his fervent

evangelizing mission, chief of which was his special attention to

his British Mission. While there he left his impress in writing

his rule for a godly Christian life, recorded in Ancient British

Triads, as 'The Triads of Paul the Apostle'. Nowhere else are

they recorded and nowhere else is the term 'Triads' employed

outside Britain, which favours acceptance of their Pauline

origin. They are as follows:



TRIADS OF PAUL THE APOSTLE



"There are three sorts of men: The man of God, who renders good

for evil; the man of men, who renders good for good and evil for

evil; and the man of the devil, who renders evil for good."

"Three kinds of men are the delights of God: The meek; the lovers

of peace; the lovers of mercy."

"There are three marks of the children of God: Gentle deportment;

a pure conscience; patient suffering of injuries."

......



1 Morgan, "St. Paul in Britain," p.177.

......





"There are three chief duties demanded by God: Justice to every

man; love; humility."

"In three places will be found the most of God: Where He is

mostly sought; where He is mostly loved; where there is least of

self."

"There are three things following faith in God: A conscience at

peace; union with heaven; what is necessary for life."

"Three ways a Christian punishes an enemy: By forgiving him; by

not divulging his wickedness; by doing him all the good in his

power."

"The three chief considerations of a Christian: Lest he should

displease God; lest he should be stumbling-block to man; lest his

love to all that is good should wax cold."

"The three luxuries of a Christian feast: What God has prepared;

what can be obtained with justice to all; what love to all may

venture to use."

"Three persons have the claims and privileges of brothers and

sisters: The widow; the orphan; the stranger"



The preservation of the Triads of Paul the Apostle is due to

the Cor of Ilid, of which Ilid, the 'man of Israel', was chief

architect and chief priest.

In Merton College, Oxford, there is an ancient MS. which

purports to contain a series of letters between St. Paul and

Seneca. In them are several allusions to St. Paul's residence in

Siluria. It is known as the Paulian MS. Bishop Burgess writes:

"Of Paul's journey to Britain we have as satisfactory proof as

any historical question can demand."



A casual study of the life and works of St. Paul, after his

arrival at Rome, shows blank periods which Scripture does not

explain. They total a silence of six years. The general opinion,

supported by the secular records, is that those years were spent

in Gaul, and principally in Britain. We know he returned to Rome

from Cambria, A.D.61, and was imprisoned there. Again he returned

to Britain and Gaul. Edouard de Bazelaire traces the path of

Paul's travel, circa A.D.62, along the Aurelian Way from Rome to

Arles, in Gaul. With him was Trophimus, one of the original

Josephian band, previously referred to, and Crescens, whom he

sent to Vienne, where he found the church at Mayence, being the

first Bishop there. Scriptural records support this in which Paul

refers to the sickness of one of his disciples whom he was

obliged to leave in Gaul.



The Rev. R. W. Morgan writes:



"There are six years of St. Paul's life to be accounted for,

between his liberation from his first imprisonment and his

martyrdom at Aquae Salviae in the Ostian Road, near Rome. Part

certainly, the greater part perhaps, of this period was spent in

Britain, in Siluria or Cambria, beyond the bounds of the Roman

Empire; and hence the silence of the Greek and Latin writers upon

it."



In Wales, as in Gaul, the memory of Paul's work among them

is almost entirely lost. The only enduring memorials to Paul's

presence in Britain, of note, are to be found in England.

Llandin - London is referred to as the 'Areopagus' of Britain,

arising out of the instance that St. Paul preached from the

summit of Ludgate Hill. The famous St. Paul's Cathedral is

erected on the site, and the ancient St. Paul's Cross may well

mark the spot where St. Paul stood as he preached the Gospel to

the British.

This, and much more, is confirmed in the Long Lost Chapter

of the Acts of the Apostles (The Sonnini MS.).



The presence and preachings of St. Paul in London became so

deeply associated with that city that he was made the Patron

Saint of London, and his emblem, the sword of martyrdom, is

incorporated in the coat of arms of this great metropolis.



A common question often arises in discussions of the ability

of the Apostles to preach understandably to the people of

different tongues. In what language did St. Paul address the

British? Did he speak the Celtic tongue or Latin? It is an

interesting but difficult question to answer.



Philologists have pointed out the great similarity of the

ancient Celtic language with the ancient Hebrew, in which case

it would not have been difficult for Paul to have preached to the

British in the Cymric language. We know that the ancient British

on a large scale were familiar with Greek, which was as common an

international language of those days as English is today. Paul

wrote all his epistles in Greek, and for a long time after the

apostolic age Greek was the language of the Church of Rome. Among

the educated, Latin was well known. Caractacus addressed the

Roman Senate at his famous trial in Latin; therefore neither side

would experience any difficulty in speaking or hearing.

Moreover it was the common practice of Christians from the

beginning to read the Scriptures in the vulgar tongue. It had

ever

......



1 Morgan, "St. Paul in Britain," p.175.

......





been the Druidic custom to speak in the vernacular. According to

I Corinthians 14:9, the Word of God forbids praying and preaching

in an unknown tongue. Paul emphasized this in the canon he laid

down for the Corinthian Church. He says:



"If I know not the meaning of the voice, I shall be unto him that

speaketh a barbarian, and he that speaketh shall be a barbarian

unto me.... I had rather in the church speak five words with my

understanding ... than ten thousand words in an unknown tongue."



It was not till the reign of Charlemagne that Latin became

the language of the church services. Latin as the language of

prayer and worship was also imposed by Pope Gregory I in the year

A.D.600.

The British church ever opposed this practice and were the

first to demand its abolition, and the first to print and preach

the Bible in their own language.

Bishop Ussher, in his "Historia Dogmatica," writes:



"No two causes contributed so much to the declension of

Christianity and the progress of Mohammedanism, as the

suppression by the Church of Rome of the vernacular scriptures,

and her adoption of image worship."



Worship of images and relics was first introduced in the

Roman Church Council by Pope Hadrian I, A.D.788. In the Bible

this is called idolatry and is severely condemned (Exodus 20:4,5;

Deut.27:15; Psa.115).



Probably the place where Paul is most commemorated is Malta,

where he was shipwrecked. At Valleta stands the beautiful church

of St. Paul Shipwrecked, erected to his memory and rescue from

the sea.

It is certain that, if it had not been for the vigorous

support of the Paulian Mission in Cambria by the Princess Eurgain

and her relatives, his efforts would have completely failed. We

cannot help but feel regret that so little was perpetuated, even

during the activity of the Cor Eurgain, to his memory and those

faithful workers who issued through Rome. It can be well said

that the success of his mission during its existence and presence

in Cambria was due to the magnificent efforts of the Caradoc

Silurian family and had a profound influence in the promotion of

Christianity in Wales. Following the death of Paul the Cambrian

church renewed its close ties with Avalon. The deep affection

Eurgain and her relatives held for Joseph who first converted and

baptized many of them always remained. Among the common people

their allegiance never deviated from Joseph or the Mother Church

at Avalon. They could not or would not accept that which came

from Rome, In this alone is found the answer. Yet they could not

and did not fail to recognize the deep affection Paul held for

the children of Caractacus and the children of Claudia. It was

too evident. His love for Linus was unbounded. We see this

preserved in an unusual relic in the Vatican Museum. It is in the

form of a glass medallion depicting a contemporary portrait of

the heads of Linus and Paul, proclaiming their undying friendship

and close association during those drama-packed years.

Paul fulfilled the mission of his Saviour, Jesus Christ, to

go 'far hence unto the Gentiles', the merit of which has throbbed

and thrived for two thousand years, and will continue to live

firm in the hope of the great promise, till He shall come again.



Eloquently St. Clement sums up the magnitude of the

achievements of the Apostle to the Gentiles. Being one of the

original Bethany band that dwelt at Avalon with Joseph, he knew

St. Paul intimately and long before he followed in the office of

his beloved friend Linus, as Bishop of Rome. He writes:



"To leave the examples of antiquity, and to come to the most

recent, let us take the noble examples of our own times. Let us

place before our eyes the good Apostle, Peter, through unjust

odium, underwent not one or two, but many sufferings; and having

undergone his martyrdom, he went to the place of glory to which

he was entitled. Paul, also, having seven times worn chains, and

been hunted and stoned, received the prize of such endurance. For

he was the herald of the Gospel in the West as well as in the

East, and enjoyed the illustrious reputation of the faith in

teaching the whole world to be righteous. And after he had been

in the extremity of the West, he suffered martyrdom before the

sovereigns of mankind; and thus delivered from this world, he

went to his holy place, the most brilliant example of

stedfastness that we possess."



"Extremity of the West" was the term used to indicate Britain.

Capellus, in "History of the Apostles," writes:



"I know scarcely of one author from the time of the Fathers

downward who does not maintain that St. Paul, after his

liberation, preached in every country of the West, in Europe,

Britain included."



Theodoret, fourth century, writes:



"St. Paul brought salvation to the Isles in the ocean."



Ventanius, sixth century, Patriarch of Jerusalem, speaks

very definitely of St. Paul's visit and work in Britain, as does

Irenaeus, A.D.125-189; Tertullian, A.D.122-166; Origen, A.D.

185-254; Mello, A.D.256; Eusebius, A.D.315; Athanasius, A.D.353;

and many other chroniclers of church history.



If further confirmation is needed it is supplied in the

records of the Roman, Eastern, Gallic and Spanish churches, all

of which attest to the fact that St. Paul evangelized in Gaul and

Britain.

.................



NOTE:



Oh how history has been covered over in the past centuries, but

the historical records are there, and many today are finding the

truth of the matter, and true history is being re-written; as the

example of the people and nations of North America before the

Vikings and Columbus came. Gradually true history is being

proclaimed and published and acknowledged.



To be continued with "King Lucius Nationalizes the Faith"