The Prophetic Telegraph No.76
It is widely thought that
the Church in
What exactly did Augustine mean? Was he saying that our Lord had been to
One of our earliest historians was the monk "Gildas the Wise". In AD
550 he penned the following lines in his De Exidio Brittanniae "We
certainly know that Christ, the true Son, afforded His light, the knowledge of
His precepts to our
According to Roman history, Tiberius Caesar reigned for 22 years, and his last
Year was AD 37. If the resurrection was in AD 33, as is now fairly well
established, then the Gospel arrived in
Now this is an interesting statement, because Roman Britain had been
established gradually from the days of Julius Caesar in BC 55. But the regions
of
Origen of Alexandria, the Greek Father, said in 230 AD "The divine
goodness of our Lord and Saviour is equally diffused among the Britons, the
Africans, and other nations of the world. "
St.Jerome, writing from
Chrysostom, Patriarch of Constantinople, wrote in 402 AD about the British
Isles, in the following manner:-
"The British Isles, which are beyond the sea, and which lie in the
ocean, have received the virtue of the Word, Churches are there founded and
altars erected. Though you should go to the ocean, to the
Arnobius, the Christian apologist, writing about 300 AD declared:-"So
swiftly runs the word of God that though in several thousand years God was not
known except among the Jews, now within the space of a few years, His word is
concealed neither from the Indians in the East nor from the Britons in the
West. "
Eusebius, the Church's first historian, (AD260 - 340) wrote.-"The
Apostles passed beyond the ocean to the isles called the Britannic Isles."
Eusebius does not tell us WHICH of the Apostles visited
"Aristobulus, whom Paul saluted when writing to the Romans, was
Bishop of
Centuries later, Nicephorus, Patriarch of Constantinople (AD 758 829) wrote
about; Simon Zelotes as follows:
"Simon born in Cana of Galilee who for his fervent affection for
his Master and great zeal that he showed by all means to the Gospel, was
surnamed Zelotes, having received the Holy Spirit from above, travelled through
Egypt, and Africa, then through Mauretania and all Libya, preaching the Gospel.
And the same doctrine he taught to the
Simon's first visit to
"March 17th is the natal day of Aristobulus, Bishop of
In the martyrologies of the Greek Church, March 15th was the day he was slain.
In their records we can read the following-
"Aristobulus was one of the seventy disciples, and a fo1lower of
So far the names of Aristobulus and Simon have been mentioned. Eusebius said
"the apostles" visited
"Paul, liberated from his first captivity at
Clemens Romanus, (who lived
from 30 - 100 AD, and had first-hand knowledge of the early Apostles) writing
to the Corinthians in 96 AD, said -
"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 apostles. 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 to 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 steadfastness that we
possess."
Here then are records showing that Paul visited our islands, and preached to
the Britons and the Welsh. It may come as a surprise to some of our readers
that in 1931, Pope Pius XI, whilst entertaining a number of English Catholics,
stated emphatically that it was not Pope Gregory, but the Apostle Paul himself
who first introduced Christianity into
We do in fact have yet another document that records Paul's visit here. It is
in the "Sonnini Document", found in
"And having departed out of Spain, Paul and his company found a
ship in Armorica [i.e. Brittany] sailing to Britain, and went therein, and
passing along the south coast they reached a port called Raphinus. [the Roman
name for
How long was Paul in
1. 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.
2. Three kinds of men are the de1ight of God: the meek, the lovers of
peace, the lovers of mercy.
3. There are three marks of the children of God: gentle deportment, a
pure conscience, patient suffering of injuries.
4. There are three chief duties demanded by God: justice to every man,
love, humility.
5. 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.
6. There are three things following faith in God: a conscience at
peace, union with heaven, what is necessary for life.
7. Three ways a Christian punishes an enemy: by forgiving him, by not
divulging his wickedness, by doing him all the good in his power.
8. The three chief considerations of a Christian: lest he should
displease God, lest he should be a stumblingblock to man, lest his love to all
that is good should wax cold.
9. 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.
l0. Three persons have the claims and privileges of brothers and
sisters: the widow, the orphan, the stranger.
If one should ask why Paul wrote in the Druidical manner, it is then necessary
to point out that the Druids were amongst the first to accept the teaching of
our Lord in Britain, a fact that has been verified by numerous historical
records, but which we cannot here expand upon without making this paper too diverse
in its theme. But clearly the "triad" comes from the Druids, and Paul
used this method when in
"Christ the Word from the Beginning, was from the first our
Teacher, and we never lost His teachings. Christianity was a new thing in
Such a statement, when placed alongside another, by Julius Caesar himself,
BC54, Injects a whole new dimension of thought, He said -
"They [i.e. the British, and in particular the Druids] make the
immortality of the soul the basis of all their teaching, holding it to be the
principal incentive and reason for a virtuous life. Believing in the
immortality of the soul they were careless of death."
So much for the statements made in British history books, that during this
period British people were at the best, "painted savages. "
(As an aside, returning to the subject of triads, Paul quoted one in the Letter
to the Ephesians,
EGEIRE, HO KATHEUDON,
KAI ANASTA EK TON NEKRON,
KAI EPIPHAUSEI SOI HO CHRISTOS. )
It might now be added that in the days of the Saxon Heptarchy, there was a
house in
But Theodoret's statement spoke of "our fishermen and publicans", Who
were these? Who else indeed but those of the twelve apostles, who were
"fishermen and publicans". Beyond that, no actual names are
mentioned. But now we have another lead from the Church Councils of Pisa
(1409),
"The churches of
And the learned Archbishop James Ussher,
(1581 - 1656) writing in his Brittannicarum Ecclesiarum Antiquitates said -
"The British National Church was founded AD 36, 160 years before
heathen Rome confessed Christianity."
Such a statement is mind-boggling to an average evangelical Christian today, on
opening almost any book on Church History, who will be hard put to it to find
any reference at all to
. "Christianity was privately confessed elsewhere, but the first
nation that produced it as their religion and called it Christian, after the
name of Christ, was
And then we have the written testimony of Maelgwyn of Llandaff, Lord of
Anglesey and Snowdonia, (AD 450)-
"Joseph of Arimathea, the noble decurion, entered his perpetual
sleep with his XI companions in the Isle of avalon."
And yet another voice adds to the list. It is that of Polydore Vergil, (1470 -
1555) the learned Italian historian, living in
"
And the eminent historian of the Roman Catholic church, Cardinal Baronius,
(1538 - 1607) who became Curator of the Vatican Library in 1597, wrote in his
Ecclesiastical Annals-
"In that year [i.e. AD 36, the year of the great persecution in
Jerusalem, and the dispersion that followed] the party of Joseph of Arimathea
and those who went with him into exile, was put out to sea in a vesse1 without
sail or oars. This vessel drifted, and finally reached Massilia [
It is indeed quite remarkable that the Roman Catholic authorities, such as
But to return to the quest, and the exciting story of Joseph of Arimathea being
put to sea in a boat without sail or oars. Do we have any further information
in the records? Yes, and it comes again from the pen of Cardinal Baronius, who
tells us that he obtained his information from very ancient documents in the
Vatican Library. [I wonder how many other important documents lie hidden there,
which ought to be the property of the whole
"These were the names of the castaways - Joseph of Arimathea, Mary
the wife of Cleopas, Martha, Lazarus, Eutropius, Salome, Clean, Saturninus,
Mary Magdalene, Marcella, (maid to the Bethany sisters, ) Maximin, Martial,
Trophimus, and Sidonius. "
But a good number of other sources from early times state emphatically that
Mary the mother of Jesus also accompanied Joseph. John the Apostle, who was to
care for Mary as though she were his own mother, was apparently unable to
fulfil this task when on Apostolic missions, and after ministering at Ephesus,
he entrusted her to Joseph, who was Mary's uncle and sole surviving relative, apart
from Mary’s other children, whose work and ministry would presumably not
allow them to care for their mother. Joseph therefore became
"paranymphos" to Mary. This is a Greek word ordinarily used of a
bridesmaid, one who cares for the bride, or for what we now call "the best
man", one who is in attendance on the bridegroom. But it was also used to
signify the office of one who had some binding responsibility to care for a
woman who had become a widow.
But let us go back a little. The records show that Joseph of Arimathea,
together with his band of castaways, landed at Marseilles in the south of
France. Other sources tell us that this was the centre of evangelism of the
Apostle Philip. Let us hear what Isidore, the Archbishop of Seville from AD 600
- 636, had to say in his Historia-
"Philip of the city of Bethsaida, whence also came Peter, preached
Christ to the Gauls, and brought barbarous and neighbouring nations, seated in
darkness and close to the swelling ocean, to the light of knowledge and port of
faith. Afterwards he was stoned and crucified and died in Hierapolis a city of
Phrygia, and having been buried with his corpse upright along with his
daughters rests there. "
Freculphus Bishop of Lisieux in France, AD 825 - 851, wrote concerning Joseph
of Arimathea, that he was Philip's "dearest friend,"
John Capgrave (1393 - 1464), the English chronicler and hagiologist, an
Augustinian hermit, who lived most of his life in friary at King's Lynn,
Norfolk, was a voluminous writer of English history. In his "De Sancto
Joseph ab Aramathea" he quotes an ancient manuscript ,which asserted,
(when translated from the Latin) "Philip sent from Gaul a hundred
and sixty disciples to assist Joseph and his companions."
In this manner we learn that Joseph was appointed by Philip to preach Christ to
the British people, and from other records we know that he fulfilled his
function with great faithfulness, staying in Glastonbury until the death of
Mary, the mother of Jesus, in AD 48.
Concerning the passing of Mary, Richard Pynson published an account of the life
of Joseph of Arimathea in the years 1516 - 1520, and quoting from ancient
sources he penned these lines -
"Now here how Joseph came into Englande;
But at that time it was called Brytayne.
Then XV yere with our lady, as I understande
Joseph wayted styll to serve hyr he was fayne."
This is not the only source that speaks about Mary's "fifteen years"
in Britain, and working on the basis of this chronology we find that her death
occurred in her 64th year, in AD 48. She is said to be buried in Glastonbury,
which the Catholic Sisterhood always refer to as "Our Lady's Dowry."
It may be mentioned here that a French convent in Alexandria, Egypt, was once
housed by nuns who were members of the old French nobility. They taught that "St.
Joseph of Arimathea took the Blessed Virgin with him to Britain and she died
there."
After the passing of Mary, Joseph is recorded as having returned to Marseilles
for a few years, then to return to England in AD 63 where he continued to work
and minister until his death on July 27th AD 82 at the grand old age of 98.
There is an ancient manuscript known as "Acts of Magdalen", written
by Rabanus Maurus, (AD 776 -856) the Frankish theologian, scholar and teacher,
and Archbishop of Mayence (Mainz) from 847, which used to be in the Magdalen
College Library at Oxford, but from a recent enquiry I made, I understand that
it is now housed in the Bodleian Library. It contains the following account of
the castaways journey from Palestine to France.
"Leaving the shores of Asia, and favoured by an east wind, they
went round about, down the Tyrrhenian Sea, between Europe and Africa, leaving
the city of Rome and all the land of Italy to the right. Then happily turning
their course to the right, they came near to the City of Marseilles, in the
Viennoise province of the Gauls, where the river Rhone is received by the sea.
There, having called upon God, the Great King of all the world, they parted, each
company going to the province where the Holy Spirit had directed them,
presently preaching everywhere, the Lord working with them, and confirming His
word with signs following."
What more can we say? The records do not stop there, but this paper must now
come to a conclusion. Without giving any further references, let me complete
this survey by saying that after all the companions of Joseph reached
Glastonbury, most of them eventually returned to France. All in fact except
Mary the mother of Jesus, Martial, and Joseph himself. And French historical
records are replete with traditions and allusions to each one, where they
worked, how they lived, and how they died. Lazarus, for example, became Bishop
of Marseilles, and lived there for seven years before he died. And so he lived
for upwards of ten years after his resurrection in AD 33.
In a succeeding paper I shall continue this historical survey, majoring on
events at Glastonbury in the half-century after AD 36.
The time has now arrived to take stock of the revelations contained within this
paper and make an evaluation. What has been the purpose in pursuing the
subject?
For quite the majority of my Christian life, which began in 1948, I had been
wholly unaware of any of the sources quoted above. I had absolutely no idea
that there were records relating to Britain at all , prior to Augustine in AD
597. This was the result of reading several books on church history. None of
them even mentioned a British church beyond saying, in a sentence or two, that
probably some of the Romans may have been converted and brought the message to
our land. All the romantic and exciting events listed in this paper took me
quite by surprise when I began to find books that revealed early historical
facts. And I came to understand what former American President Franklin
Roosevelt meant when he said, "All histories should be rewritten in
truth."
I still cannot find an adequate explanation for this grievous omission. Why,
even the dubious merits of "heritage", "patriotism", and
"national glory" should have spurred historians on to give the facts.
But no. Just silence.
Some may argue and say, "How can you BELIEVE all those things? None of
them are in the Bible." No, I admit that. But these same people might be
more than ready to accept the writings of secular historians of all ages and
all nations. Egypt? Rome? Greece? the works of Tacitus? or Josephus? Juvenal? And what about our own
Magna Carta, and the standard histories of the British peoples? Are they not
universally accepted, apart from a few arguing points here and there? What is
it that makes the average evangelical Christian nervous when it comes to such
evidences as those advanced in this paper?
Again I hear someone say, "But it does nothing to our faith, so why spend
time researching it?" But can we say the same about those who have
recently been privileged to find the remains of Noah's Ark, Sodom and the
cities of the plain, the chariot wheels of Pharaoh's army in the Red Sea, and
more important than all of these - the finding of the Ark of the Covenant? Do
these findings influence our faith? Personally I have been overjoyed to see the
Videos, and intend to write about these finds again shortly. There has been a
divine purpose unfolding, and I believe we must prayerfully find exactly what
God is saying to us. But I think the same is true about early British
Christianity. Because of this I have wanted to share these findings as widely
as I can.
If these evidences are trustworthy, (and I cannot see why in the main they are
not,) then we as a nation should take note and act on it . I do not see any
grounds for national self-glorification. But historical precedent begets
responsibility, and
especially in these days, when as a nation we have begun to cast away the
foundations of the faith first brought to this land in AD 36. And we do this at
our peril. More than any other nation on earth, since the days of the
resurrection, we have been privileged to be a Christian nation, with
missionary responsibilities, but the fires are going out.
Much of my information has come from British Israel writings. Their enthusiasm
for the truth is commendable. But they have not persuaded me that I belong to
the "Ten lost tribes." But even if this were true, Paul's words,
"There is neither Jew nor Greek" give the quietus to such theories.
National privilege no longer exists, even for the Jew. But we have a great
national and personal RESPONSIBILITY based on our history. My main purpose in
writing this paper has been to reveal that fact.