St. Paul in Britain

St. Paul in Britain; or, The origin of British as opposed to papal Christianity
Cover of the first edition
AuthorRichard Williams Morgan
LanguageEnglish
SubjectWelsh Bardic and Druidic Theology
GenreHistorical essay
PublisherJ.H. and Jas. Parker
Publication date
1861
Publication placeUnited Kingdom (Oxford and London)
Media typeprint
Pages128pp
ISBN978-0-934-66612-1

St. Paul in Britain; or, The origin of British as opposed to papal Christianity is a book written by Richard Williams Morgan and published in 1861.[1][2] The book and others by Morgan had an influencing effect on the development of Neo-Celtic Christianity.[3] The fifth to seventh editions were published by the Covenant Publishing Company, London, in 1925, 1939 and later.[4]

The work suggests the early entry of Christianity into Britain by Paul the Apostle, Simon Zelotes and Joseph of Aramathea. It lists thirty one different druidic universities which he says had been established in most of the subsequently well known English cities, which Morgan named using real or invented Welsh names.[1]

History professor Joanne Pearson commented that "Morgan's lifetime saw both the heyday and the demise of the story in Wales" of an alleged early entry of Christianity, which began the year Morgan was born with works written by Bishop Thomas Burgess arguing that Paul the Apostle converted Britain to Christianity and ended with an essay by Vicar John Pryce which refuted the arguments for an early entry of Christianity and was written shortly before his death.[5]

The book makes the claim that Caractacus and his family were converted to Christianity and that he founded "the royal family of ancient Britain,— of whom her present Majesty, Queen Victoria, is, through the Tudors, the lineal blood representative". He also argued that Boudica was a Christian and related by marriage to Paul the Apostle.[2]

The author Gerald Gardner had a copy of Morgan's book and used it as the basis for his writing on British Christianity.[6]

Edward Cardwell published a critical booklet on the topic in 1837 entitled The Supposed Visit of St Paul to Britain: a Lecture Delivered in the University of Oxford (Sermons, Volume 2), that predated Morgan's book.[7][8]

  1. ^ a b Ronald Hutton (26 May 2009). Blood and Mistletoe: The History of the Druids in Britain. Yale University Press. pp. 243–. ISBN 978-0-300-14485-7. Retrieved 24 October 2012.
  2. ^ a b Carolyn D. Williams (31 October 2009). Boudica and Her Stories: Narrative Transformations of a Warrior Queen. University of Delaware Press. pp. 177–. ISBN 978-0-87413-079-9. Retrieved 24 October 2012.
  3. ^ Günther H. Thomann (2001). A Short Biography of the Reverend Richard Williams Morgan (c. 1815-1889), the Welsh Poet and Re-founder of the Ancient British Church: An Enquiry Into the Origins of Neo-Celtic Christianity, Together with a Reprint of Several Works by Richard Williams Morgan and Jules Ferrette, Etc. St. Ephrem's Inst. Retrieved 9 November 2012.
  4. ^ Jisc Library Hub Discover; accessed 2024-09-14
  5. ^ Pearson, Joanne (27 June 2007). Wicca and the Christian Heritage: Ritual, Sex and Magic. Taylor & Francis. p. 35. ISBN 978-0-415-25413-7. Retrieved 8 November 2012.
  6. ^ Pearson, Joanne., Wicca and the Christian Heritage: Ritual, Sex and Magic Taylor & Francis, 2007 pp. 57. ISBN 978-0-415-25413-7
  7. ^ London: John Murray, 1837
  8. ^ PDF downloadable