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Depending on who is telling the story, accounts differ as to when the priesthood came to the British Isles. Anglicans tend to give this account: Christianity arrived in the British Isles around AD 47 according to Gildas's De Excidio et Conquestu Britanniae. Christians likely entered as metal workers and traders traveling long the tin route between Spain and Ireland. The earliest historical evidence of Christianity among the native Britons is found in the writings of such early Christian Fathers as Tertullian and Origen in the first years of the 3rd century. In the 1st or 2nd century, southern Britain became...

Primary-aged pupils at a leading Christian school faced questions about homosexual practice as they became the latest target of controversial ‘British values’ rules. The principal of the school, Chris Gray, has written a formal complaint to Ofsted accusing their inspection team of adopting a “hostile” stance against the school’s Christian ethos. Children aged six to eighteen at Grindon Hall Christian School in Sunderland faced intrusive questioning by Ofsted inspectors about transsexualism, homosexuality and religious festivals. … Parents objected to questions their children were asked, including if they knew what lesbians “did” and if their friends felt trapped in the “wrong...

Featured Term selected at random:CANTERBURY CATHEDRAL A historic monument of Catholic England, in County Kent, it is the burial place of some of the Church's greatest leaders. At first it was forbidden to bury within the cathedral precincts. The rule was changed when St. Cuthbert (d. 687), arranging his own burial, ordained that all archbishops could be buried within their own cathedral churches. St. Dunstan, St. Alphege, St. Anselm, St. Odo have their tombs within its walls. But the saint who is most responsible for Canterbury's prestige is St. Thomas à Becket, who was murdered by the agents of King...

The first school in Britain for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender young people could open its doors within the next three years. Based in the centre of Manchester, the specialist state school plans to take 40 full-time students from across the area and will offer up to 20 part-time places for young people who want to continue attending a mainstream school. “This is about saving lives,” said Amelia Lee, strategic director for LGBT Youth North West, the youth work charity behind the plans. “Despite the laws that claim to protect gay people from homophobic bullying, the truth is that in...

A five-year-old was billed for failing to attend a friend's birthday party - resulting in threats of legal action. Alex Nash, from Cornwall, was invited to the party just before Christmas. An invoice for £15.95 was sent by his schoolfriend's mother Julie Lawrence, who said Alex's non-attendance left her out of pocket and his parents had her details to tell her he was not going. Alex's father Derek said he had been told he would be taken to the small claims court for refusing to pay.

By Joel Leyden Israel News AgencyNew England, USA — January 17, 2015 … The above mosque is not in Iraq, Syria, Turkey or Iran. But one would have wished it was. The speaker was Dr. Saud Anwar, mayor of South Windsor, Connecticut. Dr. Anwar is respected for saving lives. Saud Anwar is a physician who specializes in Lung Diseases and Critical Care Medicine. Currently, he serves as Chair of the Department of Internal Medicine of Manchester Memorial and Rockville General Hospitals. Dr. Anwar is involved in humanitarian and peace initiatives nationally and internationally. He is frequently invited to consult for...

An excerpt from Enoch Powell's infamous “Rivers of Blood” speech: “As I look ahead, I am filled with foreboding. Like the Roman, I seem to see ‘the River Tiber foaming with much blood’. That tragic and intractable phenomenon which we watch with horror on the other side of the Atlantic but which there is interwoven with the history and existence of the States itself, is coming upon us here by our own volition and our own neglect. Indeed, it has all but come. In numerical terms, it will be of American proportions long before the end of the century. Only...

A few days before Christmas, a U.K. mother of two reached out to Christian radio show program Stand Up For Truth with a plea for prayers and support. She had been notified that Child Protection Services would be contacting her because she had permitted her children to watch the pro-life documentary 180. The controversy began when the mother (who wishes to remain anonymous) included Gospel tracts and a card advertising the 180 movie in party favor jars for a Christmas fair. She distributed these favors at the Church of England Primary School her children attend, and where she was employed...

In Why Homer Matters, historian and award-winning author Adam Nicolson suggests that Homer be thought of not as a person but as a tradition and that the works attributed to him go back a thousand years earlier than generally believed. Speaking from his home in England, Nicolson describes how being caught in a storm at sea inspired his passion for Homer, how the oral bards of the Scottish Hebrides may hold the key to understanding Homer's works, and why smartphones are connecting us to ancient oral traditions in new and surprising ways... About ten years ago, I set off sailing...

Ed Miliband launches Labour’s election campaign on Monday by calling on supporters to knock on four million doors. The party leader will vow to fight the Tories and Lib Dems “house by house, street by street and town by town” until polling day on May 7. In a rallying call in Manchester, he will say: “Today is day one of our general election campaign. This is nothing less than a once in a generation fight about who our country works for.” Vowing not to be intimidated by the big-spending Tories, he will add: “We will offer hope, not falsehood. We...

There is no man (flesh) that can stand in my presence for " I AM " I AM Everlasting , I AM life giving and I AM Omnipresent Though a Vessel is Heavenly or earthly truly I AM GOD and there is no other for I AM The Breath of Life and Creation. At My Will alone Existence(Creation) "IS" whether anatomical or spiritual, "I AM" The Hand(Spirit) And King( God and Creator) . Though many see and have seen themselves as king over their very lives "TRULY I ENTHRONE ALL ! My courts and Throne are eternal and accessible yet...

Security chiefs have taken the dramatic step of withdrawing Royal Guards from their high-profile posts outside palaces amid mounting fears of ‘lone wolf’ terrorist attacks. Elite soldiers of the Queen’s Guard have pulled back from public positions at many landmarks in response to possible threats from Islamic extremists. For the first time since the height of the IRA’s terror campaign, the soldiers are also no longer allowed on sentry duty alone, and are now accompanied by armed police

A small gold plate belonging to Polish family Sielscy from the Swedish Malmoe turned out to be an archaeological sensation. According to the researchers, it is probably a souvenir from the funeral of the Danish King Harald Bluetooth on the island of Wolin, dated to c. 986 AD. The discovery was made by 11 years old Maja Sielska, who diligently did her school homework about the Middle Ages. While looking through pictures of coins from this period in the textbook and on the Internet, the girl saw a plate with mysterious inscriptions similar to the one she had received from...

The fortress found on the Danish island of Zealand, around 30 miles south of Copenhagen, is the fifth circular fortress to be unearthed, and the first in over 60 years. “This is great news,” said Lasse Sonne, a Viking historian from the Saxo Institute at the University of Copenhagen. “Although there were Vikings in other countries, these circular fortresses are unique to Denmark. Many have given up hope that there were many of them left.” Like previously discovered ring fortresses, the Vallø Borgring is thought to date back to the late tenth century and the reign of Harald Bluetooth, the...

On Christmas Day 1013, Danish ruler Sweyn Forkbeard was declared King of all England and the town of Gainsborough its capital. But why is so little known of the man who would be England's shortest-reigning king and the role he played in shaping the early history of the nation? For 20 years, Sweyn, a "murderous character" who deposed his father Harold Bluetooth, waged war on England. And exactly 1,000 years ago, with his son Canute by his side, a large-scale invasion finally proved decisive. It was a brutal time, which saw women burned alive, children impaled on lances and men...

COPENHAGEN, Denmark – Danish museum officials say that an archaeological dig last year has revealed 365 items from the Viking era, including 60 rare coins. Danish National Museum spokesman Jens Christian Moesgaard says the coins have a distinctive cross motif attributed to Norse King Harald Bluetooth, who is believed to have brought Christianity to Norway and Denmark. Sixteen-year-old Michael Stokbro Larsen found the coins and other items with a metal detector in a field in northern Denmark.

In what they describe as a 'sensational' discovery, archaeologists from Århus find the remains of 10th century king's royal residence. After speculating for centuries about its location, the royal residence of Harald Bluetooth has finally been discovered close to the ancient Jellinge complex with its famous runic stones in southern Jutland. The remains of the ancient wooden buildings were uncovered in the north-eastern corner of the Jellinge complex which consists of royal burial mounds, standing stones in the form of a ship and runic stones. Harald ruled Denmark between 940 and 985 AD and is reputed to have conquered Norway...

9 March 2007 Crystal amulet poses question on early Christianity An overlooked crystal amulet in the National Museum suggests new understandings about Christianity's origins in Denmark King Harold Bluetooth brought Christianity to Denmark roughly 1100 years ago. At least that's what he declared on the Jelling Stone located in Jutland: 'King Haraldr ordered this monument made in memory of Gormr, his father, and in memory of Thyrvé, his mother; that Haraldr who won for himself all of Denmark and Norway and made the Danes Christian.' A tiny crystal amulet in the National Museum's archives suggests something quite different though, that...

Possible third Jellinge stone found By The Copenhagen Post Archaeologists believe they have found a new Viking-era stone engraved with ancient Danish Rune writing Archaeologists from Vejle Museum think they may have found a third 'Jellinge stone' - a large rock with carved runes and considered the first examples of written language in Denmark. The researchers have found seven stones in all, which they believe date from the 10th century. Jellinge stones tell of the founding of Denmark and of Christianity's arrival in the country. Even if the stones do not yield a true Jellinge stone, the find is still...

A town that was briefly capital of England is looking to make more of its links with a Viking king who ruled for just 40 days. Sweyn Forkbeard, the nation's shortest reigning monarch, began his rule on Christmas Day, 1001 years ago in Gainsborough, Lincolnshire. Officials want to twin the town with Sweyn's birthplace of Roskilde, Denmark and stage a festival. They also hope to mark his death with a re-enactment of a Viking burial.