THE Prince of Wales yesterday joined the Archbishop of Canterbury and 2000 other worshippers to mark the 1400th anniversary of the arrival of St Augustine in England.
The service at Canterbury Cathedral marked the climax of celebrations which have seen the opening of a #1m museum in the city and a pilgrimage by Christians of all denominations from Rome.
Yesterday's celebrations are of enormous significance as the arrival of Augustine in Canterbury in 597 is regarded as the beginnings of English Christianity.
May 26 is widely regarded to be the date in 604 when Augustine died, and the celebrations also include the anniversary of the founding of Canterbury Cathedral.
The prince's presence at the service has been seen by some as an attempt by him to heal a rift with the church after his admission of adultery and his increasing interest in alternative religions.
His relations with the Archbishop of Canterbury are said to have worsened after the Bishop of London was chosen to conduct Prince William's confirmation earlier this year.
Churchgoers have been angered by the prince's suggestion that he would like to be called ''defender of faith'' as opposed to ''defender of the faith''.
The Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr George Carey, preached a sermon with the strong theme of reconciliation among the church's different denominations.
He said: ''There can be no doubt about the blessings which Christianity has brought.
''Nevertheless, it is a history which is littered with tragedy and division, the results of which remain with us today.''
He added: ''Can we, as successors of Augustine's mission in this land, reach for a vision of reconciliation that will lead us to the unity which we now know to be the will of God?
''Perhaps such a vision will focus on a fresh estimate of one another's churches, orders and mission. Perhaps it will build on new ways of working, sharing in common worship, witness and service.
''Perhaps it will be anchored in a realisation that what we have in common vastly outstrips all that divides, set as we are in a society which is careless about Augustine's faith, let alone the denominational differences which separate us.''
Representatives of the various Christian denominations were also present at the service, including Cardinal Basil Hume, leader of the Roman Catholic Church in England, and members of the Methodist, Lutheran and Greek Orthodox churches.
Among the thousands of people who attended the hour-long ceremony were 50 pilgrims who had travelled from Rome in Augustine's footsteps, arriving at Ramsgate on Sunday.
They were joined by another 200 people in Canterbury who are planning to travel the length and breadth of the country before converging on Londonderry to mark the 14th centenary of the death of St Columba.
While it took Augustine and his missionaries more than a year to make the journey, yesterday's pilgrims had spent 10 days in air conditioned coaches travelling through Europe.
Dr Carey held a special service to welcome the pilgrims at Hugin Green, near Ramsgate, yesterday before opening a museum dedicated to St Augustine on the site of his ruined abbey in Canterbury.
The prince later lunched with Dr Carey and former Archbishops, Lord Runcie and Lord Coggan.
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