Mellitus

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Saint Mellitus (died April 24 624) was the first Bishop of London and the third Archbishop of Canterbury.

Life

Bede describes Mellitus as being of noble birth and Pope Gregory I describes him as an abbot. He may have been abbot of the monastery of St. Andrew on the Celian Hill, founded by Gregory, to which both Gregory belonged before he became pope and St. Augustine belonged before he was sent to Kent.

Mellitus was sent to England in 601 AD by Gregory in response to an appeal from Augustine, the first Archbishop of Canterbury, for a fresh band of missionaries. He was commissioned by Gregory to convey the pallium to Augustine, together with a present of books and "all things which were needed for worship and the ministry of the Church."

Mellitus was consecrated in 604 by Augustine as bishop in the province of the East Saxons, which had a capital at London, making him the first Bishop of London. Mellitus founded St. Paul's Cathedral in London and made it his episcopal see. Mellitus attended a council of bishops in Italy in February of 610, held by Pope Boniface IV. Boniface had him bring back two papal letters to England, one to King Æthelbert and the people, and another to Lawrence, the archbishop of Canterbury.

He baptised King Saebert of Essex, King Æthelberht of Kent's nephew, but was driven from London by Sebert's heathen sons in 616, after he refused the brothers request for a taste of the sacramental bread. He fled to Gaul but was recalled to Britain by St. Laurence of Canterbury, the second Archbishop of Canterbury. However, he did not return to London, as Essex remained pagan until Sigeberht II of Essex was converted to Christianity in about 650. While he was bishop, Mellitus and Justus subscribed a letter that Laurence wrote to the Celtic bishops urging the Celtic Church to adopt the Roman method of calculating the date of Easter.

Upon Laurence's death in 619, Mellitus succeeded him as the third Archbishop of Canterbury. Gregory I addressed a letter to Melitus that dealt with the issue of pagan festivals, with the pope urging Melitus to associate pagan holy days with a Christian saint. It was while he was archbishop that he supposedly performed a miracle in 623 by diverting a fire that had started in Canterbury and was threatening the church. Mellitus was carried into the flames, which caused the winds to change direction, saving the church. Other than the miracle, little happened during his time as archbishop, with Bede praising his sane mind.

He died on April 24 624 and was buried at St Augustine's Abbey in Canterbury. After his death, he was revered as a saint, with a feast day of April 24.

References

External links

• St. Mellitus Church
• Catholic Online Saints and Angels: St. Mellitus of Canterbury
• Catholic Encyclopedia St. Mellitus
• Prosopography of Anglo Saxon England Mellitus Entry

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