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Description
St. Augustine of Canterbury icon
© Cecilia Lawrence
October 18th 2014
4.5 x 6 inches
About 11 Hours
Ink, watercolor, gold leaf

“Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations,
baptizing them in the name of the Father,
and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit,
teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you.
And behold, I am with you always, until the end of the age.”
~ Matthew 28:19-20

I was commissioned to make an icon of St. Augustine of Canterbury. The client requested me to portray him in his Benedictine habit with the archbishop’s pallium on top. He’s often depicted either holding a model of Canterbury cathedral or with an image of Jesus Christ. I thought about the cathedral but I discarded that idea in favor of simply going with the image of Christ. The Lamb in his crosier is obviously a symbol of Christ, the Lamb of God, and also is reminiscent of the Good Shepherd. A fitting symbol, I think, since St. Augustine was the first pastor and Archbishop of Canterbury.

:+: A BRIEF BIOGRAPHY OF THE SAINT :+:

Saint Augustine of Canterbury (c. 530 – May 26th, 604 A.D.), was an Italian Benedictine monk who lived in the sixth century. Not much is known of his early life, and it is only until the year 595 that any clear details emerge. He was the prior of the Benedictine Abbey of St. Andrew’s in Rome when he was chosen by Pope Gregory the Great to lead “the Gregorian Mission” to Britain in 595. Several years earlier, the Frankish king Charibert I had given his daughter, the Merovingian princess Bertha, in marriage to the pagan King Æthelbert of Kent. Bertha had brought her chaplain Liudhard with her when she went to England, and with the priest’s help she restored an old Roman church dedicated to St. Martin of Tours. Since the Queen was a holy woman and had some influence over her husband, it was an ideal place to send missionaries. There is some dispute as to whether or not Pope Gregory was the first one to initiate the sending of missionaries to Kent, or whether it came at the request of Bertha and Æthelbert. In any case, the Pope carefully planned the mission, and settled on St. Augustine to lead some forty other monks and priests to Britain. The group soon set off and reached France, where they halted. Intimidated by the reports they heard about the Anglo-Saxons and about all of the difficulties ahead of them, they sent St. Augustine back to Rome to ask the Pope to call off the mission. Pope Gregory refused, and sent St. Augustine back with letters of encouragement, exhorting them to persevere amidst all the hardships and trials they had to face.

St. Augustine and his companions first landed in Kent at the Isle of Thanet in the year 597, and then proceeded to Canterbury, where they were warmly greeted by the Queen. King Æthelbert allowed the missionaries to make their home in his capital at Canterbury, and they soon began to preach and teach the people about the Christian Faith. King Æthelbert was soon baptized, and many mass conversions and baptisms followed quickly afterwards. The king gave the missionaries some land on which St. Augustine founded the monastery of Saints Peter and Paul. The mission was very successful, but as Augustine faced various issues and problems arising from cultural differences and other difficulties, he decided to send Laurence of Canterbury back to Rome to ask the Pope for advice on how to address the many ecclesiastical problems he was encountering. Gregory wrote back to him in a letter known to us as the Libella Responsionum, where he laid out the obligations of priests and bishops and clergy, as well as issues dealt with consanguineous marriages, the punishment of church thieves, ecclesiastical discipline and other questions. The Pope sent more missionaries in 601 and also sent Augustine the pallium of an archbishop, as well as presents of books, vestments, relics, and sacred vessels.

Augustine founded two more bishoprics in Britain in 604: Mellitus was consecrated bishop of London and Justus was consecrated bishop of Rochester. St. Augustine ran into some difficulties with the Celtic bishops, and was unable to persuade them to submit to his authority. Before his death, he nominated Laurence of Canterbury as his successor. St. Augustine died at Canterbury on May 26th, 604. His body was buried in the Abbey of St. Augustine (formerly Saints Peter and Paul). During the English reformation and the subsequent destruction of churches and the relics of saints, his shrine was destroyed and his relics lost. A grave marker at Canterbury indicates where he was originally buried. St. Augustine is considered to be the “Apostle to the English” and the founder of the Church in England.

The nation of Angles was bathed with the light of holy faith

Glory to God in the highest and peace to his people on earth, because the grain of wheat has fallen into the earth and has died. Christ has died in order to reign in heaven. Not only that: by his death we live; by his weakness we are strengthened; by his passion we are freed from suffering; impelled by his love, we are seeking in Britain brothers whom we do not know; through his help we have found those for whom we were searching, although we were not acquainted with them.

Who, dear brother, is capable of describing the great joy of believers when they have learned what the grace of Almighty God and your own cooperation achieved among the Angles? They abandoned the errors of darkness and were bathed with the light of holy faith. With full awareness they trampled on the idols which they had previously adored with savage fear. They are now committed to Almighty God. The guidelines given them for their preaching restrain them from falling into evil ways. In their minds they are submissive to the divine precepts and consequently feel uplifted. They bow down to the ground in prayer lest their minds cling too closely to earthly things. Whose achievement is this? It is the achievement of him who said: My Father is at work until now and I am at work as well.

God chose illiterate preachers and sent them into the world in order to show the world that conversion is brought about not by men’s wisdom but rather by his own power. So in like manner God worked through weak instruments and wrought great things among the Angles. Dear brother, in this heavenly gift there is something which should inspire us with great fear and great joy.

For I know through your love for that people, specially chosen for you, that Almighty God has performed great miracles. But it is necessary that the same heavenly gift should cause you to rejoice with fear and to fear with gladness. You should be glad because by means of external miracles the souls of the Angles have been led to interior grace. But you should tremble, lest on account of these signs, the preacher’s own weak soul be puffed up with presumption; lest, while seeming externally raised aloft in honor, it fall internally as a result of vainglory.

We should remember that when the disciples on their joyous return from their preaching mission said to their heavenly master: Lord, in your name even devils were subjected to us, he immediately retorted: Do not rejoice about this but rather that your names are inscribed in heaven.
~ from a letter by St. Gregory the Great, Pope

The Feast of St. Augustine of Canterbury is celebrated on May 27th.

St. Augustine of Canterbury is one of the patron saints of England and in particular of the city of Canterbury.

O God, who by the preaching
of the Bishop Saint Augustine of Canterbury
led the English peoples to the Gospel,
grant, we pray, that the fruits of his labors
may remain ever abundant in your Church.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever.

Description
St. Augustine of Canterbury icon
© Cecilia Lawrence
October 18th 2014
4.5 x 6 inches
About 11 Hours
Ink, watercolor, gold leaf

“Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations,
baptizing them in the name of the Father,
and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit,
teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you.
And behold, I am with you always, until the end of the age.”
~ Matthew 28:19-20

I was commissioned to make an icon of St. Augustine of Canterbury. The client requested me to portray him in his Benedictine habit with the archbishop’s pallium on top. He’s often depicted either holding a model of Canterbury cathedral or with an image of Jesus Christ. I thought about the cathedral but I discarded that idea in favor of simply going with the image of Christ. The Lamb in his crosier is obviously a symbol of Christ, the Lamb of God, and also is reminiscent of the Good Shepherd. A fitting symbol, I think, since St. Augustine was the first pastor and Archbishop of Canterbury.

:+: A BRIEF BIOGRAPHY OF THE SAINT :+:

Saint Augustine of Canterbury (c. 530 – May 26th, 604 A.D.), was an Italian Benedictine monk who lived in the sixth century. Not much is known of his early life, and it is only until the year 595 that any clear details emerge. He was the prior of the Benedictine Abbey of St. Andrew’s in Rome when he was chosen by Pope Gregory the Great to lead “the Gregorian Mission” to Britain in 595. Several years earlier, the Frankish king Charibert I had given his daughter, the Merovingian princess Bertha, in marriage to the pagan King Æthelbert of Kent. Bertha had brought her chaplain Liudhard with her when she went to England, and with the priest’s help she restored an old Roman church dedicated to St. Martin of Tours. Since the Queen was a holy woman and had some influence over her husband, it was an ideal place to send missionaries. There is some dispute as to whether or not Pope Gregory was the first one to initiate the sending of missionaries to Kent, or whether it came at the request of Bertha and Æthelbert. In any case, the Pope carefully planned the mission, and settled on St. Augustine to lead some forty other monks and priests to Britain. The group soon set off and reached France, where they halted. Intimidated by the reports they heard about the Anglo-Saxons and about all of the difficulties ahead of them, they sent St. Augustine back to Rome to ask the Pope to call off the mission. Pope Gregory refused, and sent St. Augustine back with letters of encouragement, exhorting them to persevere amidst all the hardships and trials they had to face.

St. Augustine and his companions first landed in Kent at the Isle of Thanet in the year 597, and then proceeded to Canterbury, where they were warmly greeted by the Queen. King Æthelbert allowed the missionaries to make their home in his capital at Canterbury, and they soon began to preach and teach the people about the Christian Faith. King Æthelbert was soon baptized, and many mass conversions and baptisms followed quickly afterwards. The king gave the missionaries some land on which St. Augustine founded the monastery of Saints Peter and Paul. The mission was very successful, but as Augustine faced various issues and problems arising from cultural differences and other difficulties, he decided to send Laurence of Canterbury back to Rome to ask the Pope for advice on how to address the many ecclesiastical problems he was encountering. Gregory wrote back to him in a letter known to us as the Libella Responsionum, where he laid out the obligations of priests and bishops and clergy, as well as issues dealt with consanguineous marriages, the punishment of church thieves, ecclesiastical discipline and other questions. The Pope sent more missionaries in 601 and also sent Augustine the pallium of an archbishop, as well as presents of books, vestments, relics, and sacred vessels.

Augustine founded two more bishoprics in Britain in 604: Mellitus was consecrated bishop of London and Justus was consecrated bishop of Rochester. St. Augustine ran into some difficulties with the Celtic bishops, and was unable to persuade them to submit to his authority. Before his death, he nominated Laurence of Canterbury as his successor. St. Augustine died at Canterbury on May 26th, 604. His body was buried in the Abbey of St. Augustine (formerly Saints Peter and Paul). During the English reformation and the subsequent destruction of churches and the relics of saints, his shrine was destroyed and his relics lost. A grave marker at Canterbury indicates where he was originally buried. St. Augustine is considered to be the “Apostle to the English” and the founder of the Church in England.

The nation of Angles was bathed with the light of holy faith

Glory to God in the highest and peace to his people on earth, because the grain of wheat has fallen into the earth and has died. Christ has died in order to reign in heaven. Not only that: by his death we live; by his weakness we are strengthened; by his passion we are freed from suffering; impelled by his love, we are seeking in Britain brothers whom we do not know; through his help we have found those for whom we were searching, although we were not acquainted with them.

Who, dear brother, is capable of describing the great joy of believers when they have learned what the grace of Almighty God and your own cooperation achieved among the Angles? They abandoned the errors of darkness and were bathed with the light of holy faith. With full awareness they trampled on the idols which they had previously adored with savage fear. They are now committed to Almighty God. The guidelines given them for their preaching restrain them from falling into evil ways. In their minds they are submissive to the divine precepts and consequently feel uplifted. They bow down to the ground in prayer lest their minds cling too closely to earthly things. Whose achievement is this? It is the achievement of him who said: My Father is at work until now and I am at work as well.

God chose illiterate preachers and sent them into the world in order to show the world that conversion is brought about not by men’s wisdom but rather by his own power. So in like manner God worked through weak instruments and wrought great things among the Angles. Dear brother, in this heavenly gift there is something which should inspire us with great fear and great joy.

For I know through your love for that people, specially chosen for you, that Almighty God has performed great miracles. But it is necessary that the same heavenly gift should cause you to rejoice with fear and to fear with gladness. You should be glad because by means of external miracles the souls of the Angles have been led to interior grace. But you should tremble, lest on account of these signs, the preacher’s own weak soul be puffed up with presumption; lest, while seeming externally raised aloft in honor, it fall internally as a result of vainglory.

We should remember that when the disciples on their joyous return from their preaching mission said to their heavenly master: Lord, in your name even devils were subjected to us, he immediately retorted: Do not rejoice about this but rather that your names are inscribed in heaven.
~ from a letter by St. Gregory the Great, Pope

The Feast of St. Augustine of Canterbury is celebrated on May 27th.

St. Augustine of Canterbury is one of the patron saints of England and in particular of the city of Canterbury.

O God, who by the preaching
of the Bishop Saint Augustine of Canterbury
led the English peoples to the Gospel,
grant, we pray, that the fruits of his labors
may remain ever abundant in your Church.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever.