Nederlands

FaithonMaps › All places › Canterbury

Canterbury
Photo: Wikimedia Commons · Canterbury Cathedral

Canterbury

Augustine and Thomas Becket · England

In 597 the monk Augustine, sent by Pope Gregory the Great, landed in Kent and was welcomed by King Ethelbert, whose wife was already a Christian. He became the first Archbishop of Canterbury, and the church of the English grew from here. In 1170 Archbishop Thomas Becket was murdered in the cathedral by four knights of King Henry II, and his tomb became one of the great pilgrimages of Europe. Today a single candle burns where his shrine once stood, in the mother church of the worldwide Anglican Communion.

Did you know?

Pilgrimages to Becket's shrine inspired Chaucer's famous 'Canterbury Tales'.

View on the mapOpen in Google Maps

An inspiring story

A king on his knees

Can a king say sorry?

In December 1170 four knights murdered Archbishop Thomas Becket in his own cathedral, after angry words from King Henry II, his former friend. All of Europe was shocked. Four years later the king came to Canterbury. He walked the last stretch barefoot, knelt at Becket's tomb, let the monks whip him and spent the whole night there in prayer. Why would the most powerful man in England humble himself like that? Because he knew his words had led to murder, and that no crown can cover that up.

Canterbury became one of the great pilgrim cities of Europe. One of its most remarkable pilgrims was a king who came to repent.

A broken and contrite heart you, God, will not despise.Psalm 51:17

Sources

Journeys through this place

Also on the map