Sunderland’s Christian Heritage

Well, we have been in Sunderland a few days now and I am starting to do some research on the city. An important element in understanding a people is to know about their history and surroundings.

It seems Sunderland has a distinguished Christian heritage going back over 1400 years. I will just put the information in bullet points for now but hope to elaborate as I find out more:

  • Sunderland’s motto: Nil Desperandum Auspice Deo loosely translated it means Never Despair, Trust In God.
  • The Codex Amiatinus, written in Sunderland, is the earliest surviving manuscript of the complete Bible in the Latin Vulgate version. It dates to the turn of the 8th century and is considered to be the most accurate copy of St. Jerome’s text. Some have consider it to be the finest book in the world. More here and here.
  • The Historia ecclesiastica gentis Anglorum (in English: Ecclesiastical History of the English People), written in Sunderland, is a work in Latin by the Venerable Bede on the history of the Church in England, and of England generally; its main focus is on the conflict between Roman and Celtic Christianity. It is considered to be one of the most important original references on Anglo-Saxon history. It is believed to have been completed in 731, when Bede was approximately 60 years old.

They were just a few notes of interest to me and I thought I would share them.

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