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Bishop of London and third Archbishop of Canterbury, d. 24 April, 624. He
was the leader of the second band of missionaries whom St. Gregory sent from
Rome to join St. Augustine at Canterbury in 601. Venerable Bede (Hist.
Eccl., II, vii) describes him as of noble birth, and as he is styled abbot
by the pope (Epp. Gregorii, xi, 54, 59), it is thought he may have been
Abbot of the Monastery of St. Andrew on the Coelian Hill, to which both St.
Gregory and St. Augustine belonged. Several commendatory epistles of the
pope recommending Mellitus and his companions to various Gallic bishops have
been preserved (Epp., xi, 54-62). With the band he sent also "all things
needed for divine worship and the Church's service, viz. sacred vessels and
altar cloths, vestments for priests and clerics, and also relics of the holy
apostles and martyrs, with many books" (Bede, "Hist. Eccl.", I, 29).
The consecration of Mellitus as bishop by Augustine took place soon after
his arrival in England, and his first missionary efforts were among the East
Saxons. Their king was Sabert, nephew to Ethelbert, King of Kent, and by his
support, Mellitus was able to establish his see in London, the East Saxon
capital, and build there the church of St. Paul. On the death of Sabert his
sons, who had refused Christianity, gave permission to their people to
worship idols once more. Moreover, on seeing Mellitus celebrating Mass one
day, the young princes demanded that he should give them also the white
bread which he had been wont to give their father. When the saint answered
them that this was impossible until they had received Christian baptism, he
was banished from the kingdom. Mellitus went to Kent, where similar
difficulties had ensued upon the death of Ethelbert, and thence retired to
Gaul about the year 616.
After an absence of about a year, Mellitus was recalled to Kent by
Laurentius, Augustine's successor in the See of Canterbury. Matters had
improved in that kingdom owing to the conversion of the new king Eadbald,
but Mellitus was never able to regain possession of his own See of London.
In 619, Laurentius died, and Mellitus was chosen archbishop in his stead. He
appears never to have received the pallium, though he retained the see for
five years-a fact which may account for his not consecrating any bishops.
During this time, he suffered constantly from ill-health. He consecrated a
church to the Blessed Mother of God in the monastery of SS. Peter and Paul
at Canterbury, and legend attributes to him the foundation of the Abbey of
St. Peter at Westminster, but this is almost certainly incorrect. Among the
many miracles recorded of him is the quelling of a great fire at Canterbury
which threatened to destroy the entire city. The saint, although too ill to
move, had himself carried to the spot where the fire was raging and, in
answer to his prayer, a strong wind arose which bore the flames southwards
away from the city. Mellitus was buried in the monastery of SS. Peter and
Paul, afterwards St. Augustine's, Canterbury. Some relics of the saint were
preserved in London in 1298. The most reliable account of his life is that
given by Bede in "Hist. Eccl.", I, 29, 30; II, 3-7. Elmham in his "Historia
Monasterii S. Augustini Cantuar.", edited by Hardwick, gives many additional
details, but the authenticity of these is more than questionable. His feast
is observed on April 24.
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