Church Historian

Abstract

Fuller consulted books and manuscripts in many parts of the country, and in government archives in London. He presents solid evidence that the Church was established in Britain in the fourth century, well before the invasion of the Anglo-Saxons and the mission of St. Augustine of Canterbury to convert their kingdoms. The Celtic and Roman Christians in Britain were brought together in the mid-seventh century. The medieval Church in England was often at odds with the papacy. Fuller found aspects of medieval culture to admire, including scholasticism. He saw the English Church in the reign of Henry VIII as returning to the jurisdiction of the monarchy. In Queen Elizabeth’s reign, the English Church emerged with its own liturgy and statement of belief, and with bishops in the historic succession. He saw this Church as an authentic expression of its early origins and one that had undergone a Reformation by legal and appropriate means.