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Tertullian mentions the British Church as operational in AD208 and Origen mentions it in AD238. In AD314 The Primate of the British Church, Adelfius of Caerleon, Bishop Eborius of York and Bishop Restitutus of London all attended the Council of Arles. In AD 325, Saint Athanasius specifically noted the British Church assenting to the decisions of Nicaea I.
The British church was a [[missionary ]] church with figures such as St Illtud, St Ninian and St Patrick evangelising in Wales, Scotland and Ireland, but the invasions by the pagan Angles, Saxons and Jutes set the Church back. The incomers as is now known, did not drive the Britons out, but actually intermarried with them, and many Britons remained living in the newly conquered areas. The Church no doubt was muted and probably impotent at these times. There were those outside who thought it should be more militant in returning to evangelise the Anglo-Saxons. In 597 a mission sent by St [[Gregory the Dialogist]] and led by St [[Augustine of Canterbury]] landed in Kent to begin the work of converting these pagan insurgents.
However we know that Augustine met a British Bishop where he landed in Kent and that the British Church numbered around 120 Bishops at the time of his ecclesiastical invasion of an existing Church which was in full communion with the rest of the worldwide Church.
::*[[Apostle Peter]] who, after visiting Milan, had "passed over to the island of Britain, now called England, (where) he spent many years and turned many erring Gentiles to faith in Christ";
::*[[Apostle Aristobulus]] (brother of St. [[Apostle Barnabas|Barnabas]]), who is called the Apostle of Britain and who was its first bishop; and
::*[[Apostle Simon]] the Canaanite and Zealot. In these Islands, the Celtic Church had shone forth - especially during the glorious period known as the "Age of Saints" when its [[missionaries ]] preached throughout much of Europe, becoming '[[Saint titles|Equals to the Apostles]]'.
::*Apocryphal legend claims that [[Joseph of Arimathea]] accompanied the [[Apostle Philip]], [[Lazarus]], [[Mary Magdalene]] & others on a preaching mission to Gaul. {{citation|Name of Apocryphal book}}.
::*[[Eusebius of Caesarea]], (AD 260-340) Bishop of Caesarea and father of ecclesiastical history wrote: ''"The Apostles passed beyond the ocean to the isles called the Britannic Isles."''
*325 [[First Ecumenical Council]] of Nicea convened by the Roman Emperor [[Constantine the Great|Constantine]].
*337 Constantine received "Christian" baptism on his deathbed; joint rule of Constantine's three sons: Constantine II (to 340); Constans (to 350); Constantius (to 361)
*350 [[Ninian]] establishes the church Candida Casa at Whithorn in Galloway, Scotland, beginning the [[missionary ]] effort to the Picts.
*380 Pelagius<ref group="note">St. Jerome suggests that this Pelagius was of Scottish descent but in such terms that it is uncertain as to whether he was from Scotland or Ireland. He is also frequently referred to as a British monk and Augustine has been documented as referring to him as "Brito" to distinguish him from Pelagius of Tarentum.</ref> enters Britain from Rome and introduces the heresy of Pelagianism.<ref group="note">http://www.seanmultimedia.com/Pie_Pelagius_Synod_Lydda_415AD.html</ref>
*383 Rome appoints Magnus Maximus as emperor in Britain while conquering Gaul, Spain and Italy.
*418 ''Pelagianism is condemned at the [[Councils of Carthage|Council of Carthage]]''
*419 King [[Brychan of Brecknock]] born, ca. 419, in South Wales.
*429 [[Celestine of Rome|Celestine I]] dispatches prominent Gallo-Roman Bishops [[Germanus of Auxerre]] and Lupus of Troyes to Britain as [[missionary ]] bishops and to combat the [[Pelagianism|Pelagian]] heresy.
*430 [[Patrick of Ireland|Patrick]] ordained by St. [[Germannus of Auxerre|Germannus]], Bishop of Auxerre.
*431 [[Augustine of Hippo|Augustine]] and Pelagius;
*455 Germanic Saxons and Angles conquer Britain, founding several independent kingdoms.
*459 Death of [[Auxilius of Ireland]].<ref group="note">St. [[Auxilius of Ireland]]: The date of death is also given as 454 or 455, see Sabine Baring-Gould, ''The Lives of the Saints'' (J. Hodges, 1898), 275.</ref>
*461 Death of the Holy Hierarch St. [[Patrick of Ireland|Patrick]], the Apostle of Ireland, at Saul, Downpatrick, Ireland<ref group="note">When he came to Ireland, as its enlightener, it was a pagan country; when he ended his earthly life some thirty years later, about 461, the Faith of Christ was established in every corner." (Great Horologion) The work of St Patrick and his brethren has been called the most successful single [[missionary ]] venture in the history of the Church.</ref>[[Image:Post-Roman Britannia ca.500 AD.jpg|right|thumb|Post-Roman Britain, ca.500 AD.]]
*ca.480 Death of St. [[w:Tydfil|Merthyr of Tydfil]], in Wales.
*484 [[Brendan the Navigator]] born at Tralee in Kerry, Ireland.
*2006 Bp. [[Basil (Osborne) of Amphipolis|Basil (Osborne)]] was accepted into the jurisdiction of the Ecumenical Patriarchate on June 8 and accorded the title of ''Bishop of Amphipolis'' as head of the Episcopal [[w:Patriarchal_Exarchate_for_Orthodox_Parishes_of_Russian_Tradition_in_Western_Europe#Episcopal_Vicariate_of_Great_Britain_and_Ireland|Episcopal Vicariate of Great Britain and Ireland]], within the [[Patriarchal Exarchate for Orthodox Parishes of Russian Tradition in Western Europe]].
*2007 The Holy Synod of the [[Church of Russia|Moscow Patriarchate]] officially released Bp. [[Basil (Osborne) of Amphipolis|Basil (Osborne)]] from its jurisdiction on March 27; on December 27 the Diocese of Sourozh is reconstituted, as the Holy Synod of the [[Church of Russia]] appointed Bp. [[Elisey (Ganaba) of Sourozh|Elisey (Ganaba)]] as Bp. of Sourozh, bringing to an end the Temporary Administration of Abp. Innokenty, who was thanked for having restored peace to the Diocese; [[Diocese of Sourozh]] celebrated the 50th anniversary of the consecration of the ''Cathedral of the Dormition of the Mother of God and all Saints'' (known to Londoners simply as "[http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=45939 Ennismore Gardens]").
*2007 The Abp. of Canterbury Dr. Rowan Williams welcomed Patriarch [[Bartholomew I (Archontonis) of Constantinople|Bartholomew I]] to Westminster Abbey to celebrate the publication of ''[http://www.churchtimes.co.uk/content.asp?id=32722 The Church of the Triune God: The Cyprus Agreed Statement]'', taking over 16 years to produce, concluding the third phase of the Anglican-Orthodox international theological dialogue; [[Diocese of Diokleia]] is elevated to a Metropolis and Bp. [[Kallistos (Ware) of Diokleia|Kallistos (Ware)]] to Titular Metropolitan of Diokleia; death of Metr. [[Gabriel (Saliby) of Western Europe]] (Antiochian); the moves towards restoration of canonical relations between [[ROCOR]] and the [[Church of Russia|Moscow Patriarchate]] saw the departure in January 2007 of 1) the monastic [[St. Edward the Martyr Orthodox Brotherhood (Surrey, England)|Brotherhood of St Edward in Brookwood]], 2) the Holy Annunciation Convent in Willesden, and 3) the [[missionary ]] parish of St Boniface on the Isle of Wight, all for the [[Holy Synod in Resistance|Greek Orthodox Synod in Resistance]]; the Abp. of Canterbury Dr. Rowan Williams "[http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1566108/Rowan-Williams-hits-out-at-atheist-Dawkins.html launched a fierce attack]" against the modern cult of atheism in a lecture singling out the eminent scientist Richard Dawkins, author of the best-selling ''The God Delusion'' and a leading Darwinist, arguing that atheists had missed the point and failed to understand what Christians really believe in.
*2008 Enthronement of Metr. [[John (Yazigi) of Western Europe|John (Yazigi)]] of Western and Central Europe for the [[Antiochian Orthodox Deanery of the United Kingdom and Ireland]]; partnership between [http://www.monachos.net/content/ Monachos.net] (Patristic and Monastic website) and [[Ancient Faith Radio]], launching a series of weekly internet podcasts entitled ''"[http://ancientfaith.com/podcasts/holyfathers A Word From the Holy Fathers]".''
*2009 With the retirement of Bp. [[Basil (Osborne) of Amphipolis]], the [[w:Patriarchal_Exarchate_for_Orthodox_Parishes_of_Russian_Tradition_in_Western_Europe#Episcopal_Vicariate_of_Great_Britain_and_Ireland|Episcopal Vicariate of Great Britain and Ireland]] became the [[Deanery of Great Britain and Ireland]], coming directly under the omophorion of Abp. [[Gabriel (de Vylder) of Komana]] ([[Patriarchal Exarchate for Orthodox Parishes of Russian Tradition in Western Europe]]); Archpastoral visitation of Metropolitan [[Hilarion (Kapral) of New York|Hilarion]] of ROCOR to Great Britain; Hieromonk Fr. Michael (Mansbridge-Wood) of ROCOR stated that [[Western Rite]] was celebrated on two successive Sundays in the Russian Orthodox Cathedral of the Dormition at Chiswick in London;<ref group="note">''"The Cathedral has a Lower Church (the original) and an Upper Church - which has just been finished. They have given us the Lower Church to use for [[Western Rite]]. So we celebrate our Western Rite in the Lower Church at the same time as they celebrate the Eastern Rite in the Upper Church..."''</ref> interviewing the Rt. Rev Paul Richardson, assistant Church of England Bishop of Newcastle, ''The Daily Telegraph'' on 27 June reported that Britain is no longer a Christian nation and that the [http://orthodoxengland.org.uk/coedead.htm Church of England could die out within a generation].
*[[Timeline of Orthodox Church and Roman Catholic relations]]
===Othodox Orthodox Churches in the British Isles===
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!Founded||Diocese||Jurisdiction
