At the time the Romans left Britain, a lot of people in the country were Christians. Although some people didn't go to church much. The Romans had not ruled in Scotland and there were not many of them in Cornwall. Christianity was not popular in these areas. A popular Christian symbol, at this time, was a Chi-Rho (see picture). It showed the first and last letters of Christ's name. King Arthur was a Christian. Nennius tells us how he had a shield with a picture of Christ's mother, St. Mary, on it. Like today, priests looked after the ordinary people and held services for them in churches on Sunday. There were bishops in charge of the priests in some areas. They worked for the Pope. It was difficult for them to look after their followers during Saxon attacks and the Pope could not help them. He lived a long way away in Rome. The bishops moved around a lot, but they may have had cathedrals in places like Caerleon and Carlisle. Others were later set up in places like Bangor, St. Davids and Hereford. Some Christians spent their whole lives praying and doing good things. They might be missionaries, hermits, monks or nuns. Some of them were later thought to be special people and were called saints. Christianity was quite new and there were sometimes big arguments about what Christians should believe. A British priest called Pelagius started one argument in the 5th century. An Italian missionary called Augustine started another one in the 6th century. Activity Sheets available.

Click to find out: What the churches were like