or Austin, St., the first archbishop of Canterbury, was originally a monk in the convent of St Andrew at Rome, and educated under St Gregory, afterwards Pope Gregory I., by whom he was sent into Britain with forty other monks of the same order, about the year 596, to convert the English Saxons to Christianity. The missionaries landed in the isle of Thanet; and having sent some French interpreters to King Ethelbert with an account of their errand, the king gave them leave to convert as many of his subjects as they could, and assigned as their place of residence Durovernum, since called Canterbury, to which they were confined till the conversion of the king himself, whose example had a powerful influence in promoting the conversion of his subjects; but though he was extremely pleased at their becoming Christians, he never attempted to compel them. Augustin dispatched a priest and a monk to Rome, to acquaint the pope with the success of his mission, and to desire his resolution of certain questions. These men brought back with them a pall, and several books, vestments, utensils, and ornaments for the churches. His holiness, by the same messengers, gave Augustin directions concerning the settling of episcopal sees in Britain; and ordered him not to pull down the idol temples, but to convert them into Christian churches, only destroying the idols, and sprinkling the place with holy water, that the natives, by frequenting the temples they had been always accustomed to, might be the less shocked at their entrance into Christianity. Augustin resided principally at Canterbury, which thus became the metropolitan church of England; and having established bishops in several of the cities, he died on the 26th May 607. The Popish writers ascribe several miracles to him. The observation of the festival of St Augustin was first enjoined in a synod held under Cuthbert, archbishop of Canterbury, and afterwards by the pope's bull in the reign of King Edward III.