Editing Mellitus (section)

==Bishop of London==
Exactly when Mellitus and his party arrived in England is unknown, but he was certainly in the country by 604,<ref name=DNB/> when Augustine consecrated him as [[bishop]]<ref name=Hanbook219>Fryde, et al. ''Handbook of British Chronology'' p. 219</ref> in the province of the [[East Saxon]]s, making Mellitus the first Bishop of London after the Roman departure (London was the East Saxons' capital).<ref name=Brooks11>Brooks ''Early History of the Church of Canterbury'' pp. 11–13a</ref> The city was a logical choice for a new bishopric, as it was a hub for the southern road network. It was also a former Roman town; many of the Gregorian mission's efforts were centred in such locations. Before his consecration, Mellitus baptised Sæberht, Æthelberht's nephew, who then allowed the bishopric to be established. The episcopal church built in London was probably founded by Æthelberht, rather than Sæberht. Although Bede records that Æthelberht gave lands to support the new episcopate, a charter that claims to be a grant of lands from Æthelberht to Mellitus is a later forgery.<ref name=DNB/>

Although Gregory had intended London to be the southern archbishopric for the island, Augustine never moved his [[episcopal see]] to London, and instead consecrated Mellitus as a plain bishop there.{{efn|Although the historian S. Brechter argued that Augustine did in fact move the archbishopric to London, and that Mellitus was his successor there instead of Laurence, this has been shown to be unlikely.<ref name=Hadrill39>Wallace-Hadrill ''Bede's Ecclesiastical History of the English People'' p. 39</ref>}} After Augustine's death in 604, Canterbury continued to be the site of the southern archbishopric, and London remained a bishopric. It may have been that the Kentish king did not wish greater episcopal authority to be exercised outside his own kingdom.<ref name=DNB/>

Mellitus attended a council of bishops held in Italy in February 610, convened by Pope [[Pope Boniface IV|Boniface IV]].<ref name=DNB/> The historian N. J. Higham speculates that one reason for his attendance may have been to assert the English Church's independence from the Frankish Church.<ref name=Convert115>Higham ''Convert Kings'' p. 115</ref> Boniface had Mellitus take two papal letters back to England, one to Æthelbert and his people, and another to [[Laurence of Canterbury|Laurence]], the Archbishop of Canterbury.<ref name=Brooks13>Brooks ''Early History of the Church of Canterbury'' p. 13</ref> He also brought back the synod's decrees to England.<ref name=Blair86>Blair ''World of Bede'' pp. 86–87</ref> No authentic letters or documents from this synod remain, although some were forged in the 1060s and 1070s at Canterbury.<ref name=DNB/> During his time as a bishop, Mellitus joined with [[Justus]], the Bishop of Rochester, in signing a letter that Laurence wrote to the Celtic bishops urging the [[Celtic Christianity|Celtic Church]] to adopt the Roman method of calculating the [[Easter controversy|date of Easter]]. This letter also mentioned the fact that Irish missionary bishops, such as [[Dagan (bishop)|Dagan]], refused to eat with the Roman missionaries.<ref name=ASE112>Stenton ''Anglo-Saxon England'' p. 112</ref>

Both Æthelberht and Sæberht died around 616 or 618, causing a crisis for the mission.<ref name=DNB/> Sæberht's three sons had not converted to Christianity, and drove Mellitus from London.<ref name=Hindley36>Hindley ''Brief History of the Anglo-Saxons'' p. 36</ref> Bede says that Mellitus was exiled because he refused the brothers' request for a taste of the [[Eucharist (Catholic Church)|sacramental bread]].<ref name=DNB/>{{efn|The historian James Campbell speculates that the brothers may have wanted a taste either because they thought it was magical or because the bread was white, which was rare at the time.<ref name=Campbell77>Campbell "Observations on the Conversion of England" ''Essays in Anglo-Saxon History'' pp. 77–78</ref>}} Whether this occurred immediately after Sæberht's death or later is impossible to determine from Bede's chronology, which has both events in the same chapter but gives neither an exact time frame nor the elapsed time between the two events.<ref name=Convert137>Higham ''Convert Kings'' p. 137</ref> The historian N. J. Higham connects the timing of this episode with a change in the "overkingship" from the Christian Kentish Æthelberht to the pagan East Anglian [[Raedwald]], which Higham feels happened after Æthelberht's death. In Higham's view, Sæberht's sons drove Mellitus from London because they had passed from Kentish overlordship to East Anglian, and thus no longer needed to keep Mellitus, who was connected with the Kentish kingdom, in office.<ref name=Empire202>Higham ''English Empire'' pp. 202–203</ref>

Mellitus fled first to Canterbury, but Æthelberht's successor [[Eadbald of Kent|Eadbald]] was also a pagan, so Mellitus, accompanied by Justus, took refuge in Gaul.<ref name=DNB/> Mellitus was recalled to Britain by Laurence, the second Archbishop of Canterbury, after his conversion of Eadbald.<ref name=ASE/> How long Mellitus's exile lasted is unclear. Bede claims it was a year, but it may have been longer.<ref name=Convert137/> Mellitus did not return to London,<ref name=ASE>Lapidge "Mellitus" ''Blackwell Encyclopedia of Anglo-Saxon England''</ref> because the East Saxons remained pagan.<ref name=DNB/> Although Mellitus fled, there does not seem to have been any serious persecution of Christians in the East Saxon kingdom.<ref name=Convert135>Higham ''Convert Kings'' pp. 135–136</ref> The East Saxon see was not occupied again until [[Cedd]] was consecrated as bishop in about 654.<ref name=Convert234>Higham ''Convert Kings'' pp. 234–237</ref>