Superb documentary on St Augustine


St Anthony Communications have produced a short film about St Augustine of Canterbury. It is well arranged in the style of modern historical documentaries: walking across windswept landscapes while shouting to camera, that sort of thing; and makes important points about English history while showing where it all started.

Fr Marcus Holden, the parish priest of Ramsgate which includes in its boundaries the place where Saint Augustine landed, narrates the arrival of St Augustine, the conversion of King Ethelbert, the origin of Canterbury Cathedral and the destruction wrought by King Henry VIII. We also hear of the revival initiated by Augustus Welby Pugin who built the Church of St Augustine's, Ramsgate, now a national shrine.

The start of the film summarises the vision of St Gregory the Great. At a time of crisis, he did not opt for consolidation and capitulation but for evangelisation and the expansion of the Church to the bleak northern territory of the Angles. The film ends with the vision of Pugin who understood England as something spiritual, not simply a place for material prosperity. From start to finish, the film subtly prompts the viewer to consider where we are now.

You can see a trailer of the 26 minute DVD at Saint Anthony Communications and order a copy from there. (£9.95)

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