UNCLE JOSEPH
TRUSTEE of the GOSPEL

In Christ in Britain we established that a man named Joseph of Arimathea was the Virgin Mary's uncle. It was he, along with St. John who buried Jesus after the crucifixion. Joseph, in the tin trade, made a lot of trips to Britain, where being a rich merchant made close contact with British Royalty; namely Kings Belli, Lud, Llyr and Arviragus, who gave Joseph and his companions some 2000 acres of land, tax free. On these trips to Britain, Joseph took Jesus, as we showed through many geographical, historical and traditional references. The details of this study are taken mainly from "The Drama of the Lost Disciples", by George F. Jowett.

The four main topics of this page are God's plan of Trusteeship, Joseph's Company of disciples coming to Britain, the outflow of Missionaries from Glastonbury, and why England was chosen for the sanctuary of Christianity.

Historians William of Malmesbury, Maelgwyn of Llandaff and Polydore Vergil all place Joseph of Arimathea at Glastenbury. Even the four Church councils of Pisa 1409, Constance 1417, Sienna 1424 and Basle 1434, mention that "the Churches of France and Spain must yield in points of antiquity and precedence to that of Britain as the latter Church was founded by Joseph of Arimathea immediately after the passion of Christ."

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GOD'S TRUSTEE PLAN

God works in the long term. He often takes centuries to set up certain events or circumstances. A neat little study is listing God's Trustees or Protectorates throughout the last four thousand years. First came Joseph, the eleventh son of Jacob. God sent him to Egypt twenty-one years before Jacob came with his family from famine ravaged Canaan. Twenty-one years! !
Jeremiah was given Trusteeship of the Throne and the bloodline of David. He brought King Zedekiah's daughter Tea Tephi to Ireland in order to join the two lines of Judah, the Pharez line in Tea and the Zarah line in Eochaidh, high king of Ireland. This happened in 583 BC and was part of God's preparation of the land to which the House of Israel would migrate. The Davidic bloodline would be woven through all the kings and queens of northwest Europe as a result of the marriage of those two. But five hundred years earlier, God had already placed Brutus in England. He founded New Troy (London) about 1100 BC. Talk about planning ahead!
We could also talk of Tobit, and especailly Queen Esther, whom God placed in Persia to protect the captive Jews.
There are volumes be said about the pioneering of the Tribe of Dan, as they (the Phoenicians) established trade routes from China to south America, and reconoitered the migration route of the Lost Tribes west across Europe. Look at all the "Dn" names on the rivers. There's the Danube, the Dneiper, the Don, and on. Why there are three Don rivers in the British Isles! Those Danite\Phoenicians tacked up their name everywhere they went. Just like they did in the Bible when they conquered a town and changed the name to Mahanedan (Judges 18:12)
Lastly, let me point to Daniel. God set up Daniel to run the Babylonian government during the time of the Exile.

God sticks to a winning plan. He set up a Trustee for Christianity as well. And please notice that these Trustees are highly educated, highly situated, and most of them were pretty good looking, too. Joseph of Arimathea has been called one of the richest men in the world. He inherited that tin trade from his fellow Israelites; the Phoenicians. They had been bringing ore from England for centuries. Joseph was well educated, a member of the ruling political body of the whole country. He was well placed as "Noblis Decurio", a miniter of mines for the Roman empire, with direct access to Pilate himself. Joe was no slouch. How better to protect Jesus, after Joseph the carpenter died, and insure the seeding and growth of the Gospel in England; the place to which the scattered House of Israel would continue to migrate for the next eleven centuries! ! ? The prophecies of this migration are in just about all the prophetic books of the Old Testament. But read the book of Hosea if you want to see the history of the Celts and Scythians/House of Israel/Lost Tribes. Or you can link to They Went Thattaway

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JOSEPH AND COMPANY

The average person is so well inoculated with the belief that Christianity was first established by the Roman Catholic Chruch at Rome, and that Britain first received the faith through St. Augustine, AD 597, that they take if for granted. Wasn't the Roman Catholic Church established in the fourth century, well after the death of Constantine? Between Christ's death and the establishment of the Roman Catholic Church lay centuries. Was Christianity waiting around for Constantine to Christianize the Roman Empire and then die? Surely the missionary work begun by the Apostles continued. But where? The history of the Roman Catholic Church itself testifies that England preceded itself in the establishment of Christianity.

The basic story of Joseph's trip to England varies in some details from account to account. But the bare facts are that Joseph, with many disciples traveled from the holy land by boat and landed at Marseilles, in the Vienoise province of the Gauls (France). From there he went on to England established seminaries, sent out missionaries, and helped in the conversion of the Royal family. In his "Ecclesiastical Annals", Cardinal Baronius, Curator of the Vatican library, gives this account. "In that year the party mentioned was exposed to the sea in a vessel without sails or oars. The vessel drifted finally to Marseilles and they were saved. From Marseilles Joseph and his company passed into Britain and after preaching the Gospel there, died." The reason for the boat having been set adrift, was that the Jews wanted to get rid of these Christians, but couldn't get away with murder.
How many of the disciples were with Joseph of Arimathea during his short stay in Gaul, before going on to England, is hard to say. Various existing records agree in part with the Cardinal Baronius record, naming among the occupants of the castaway boat Mary Magdlene, Martha, the handmaiden Marcella, Lazarus whom Jesus raised from the dead, and Maximin the man whose sight Jesus restored. Other records state that Philip and James accompanied Joseph. Others report that Mary, the wife of Cleopas, and Mary, the mother of Jesus, were also in the boat. Here's Baronius' complete list of passengers:
St. Mary, wife of Cleopas
St. Martha
St. Lazarus
St. Eutropius
St. Salome
St. Cleon
St. Saturninus
St. Mary Magdalene
Marcella, the Bethany sisters' maid
St. Maximin
St. Martial
St. Trophimus
St. Sidonius (Restitutus)
St. Joseph of Arimathea

And true to God's way, Philip was waiting for the travellers in France. There is a wealth of uncontroversial testimony asserting his commission in Gaul, all of which alike state that he received and consecrated Joseph, preparatory to his embarkation and appointment as the Apostle to Britain.

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ENGLISH MISSIONARIES

Although there are some who would agrue for France being first, most records agree that Britain, at Glastonbury was the Root of the Christian movement. One would expect that history would show that the missionary activities would flow out of the well-spring of Christianity. And well does history record this. The Gaulic records state that for centuries the Archbishops of Treves and Rheims were all Britons supplied by the mother church at Glastonbury-Avalon. St. Cadval, a famed British missionary, going out from Glastonbury, founded the church of Tarentum, Italy, A.D. 170. Did you notice that this was four hundred years before St. Augustine? And as we'll see later, even this date was at least fourteen years after King Lucius Christainized all of Britain in A.D. 156! ! ! Nobody really wants to play "Who was First" with the British.

Converts literally flooded into Glastenbury for conversion, baptism, instruction and missionary assignment. Philip sent, from Gaul alone, one hundred sixty disciples to assist Joseph and his team with the crowds. And it is surely known that helpers were sent from other places beside France.
One of the first to go out from Glastenbury was Mary and Martha's brother Lazarus. He headed straight back to Marseilles where he held the Bishopric for seven years. But that was only natural. France was a Family Thing for the Bethany household. Mary and Martha both lived out their lives, preaching and teaching in the south of France. "The Coming of The Saints," by Taylor is a good book on the subject.

Many famous names are recorded as having been associated with Glastonbury-Avalon.

Sidonis, Saturninus, and Cleon taught and supported other missionaries in Gaul, then returned to Britain.
Martial's parents, Marcellus and Elizabeth were there along with St Zacchaeus. Many faithful Judeans moved to Britain.
Parmena, disciple of Joseph, was appointed the first Bishop of Avignon.
Drennalus, helped Joseph found the church at Morlaix. He was then appointed to Treguier as it's first Bishop.
Beatus founded the church in Helvetia, after receiving his baptism and education at Avalon.
Beatus was baptised by St. Barnabas, the brother of Aristobulus, sent in advance by St. Paul to Britain. He is referred to in scripture as Joses, the Levite.
Mansuetus was consecrated the first Bishop of the Lotharingians A.D. 49, with his See at Toul. He also founded the church at Lorraine.

Historical note:
Mansuetus was a constant visitor at the Palace of the British at Rome after Claudia had married Pudens. He was a friend of Linus, the first Biship of Rome, and brother of Claudia. After the death of St. Clement, Mansuetus became the third official Bishop of the British Church at Rome. Thus we have three disciples of Avalon, instructed by St. Joseph, to become, in succession, Bishops of Rome.
Iltigius, in "De Patribus Apostolicis", quotes St. Peter as saying; "Concerning the Bishops who have been ordained in our lifetime, we make known to you that they are these. Of Antioch, Eudoius, ordained by me, Peter. Of the Church of Rome, Linus, son of Claudia, was first ordained by Paul, and after Linus's death, Clemens the second, ordained by me, Peter."

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WHY ENGLAND?

There are some very good superficial reasons why all this took place in England. Because of Joseph's merchant business it was a known location, where Royal friends could help, and far from persecution. The deeper levels of meaning require broader levels of perspective.
Without going into detail again, I'll mention that the Lost Tribes were headquartered in Britain. Ephraim and Judah, were already running the country. These folks, and their cousins that would come in later, are the very ones who God drafted to take His message to the world. We're looking at a plan that God set up to run almost four thousand years ago.
He called Abraham to father the nation that would supply the stock and the wealth for the Zarah line to precede the Israelites into europe, from whence they would take the Message of Christ to the rest of the world. Please remember when reading the following Bible references that the House of Israel is distinct from the House of Judah. All are Israelites (descendents of Israel/Jacob), but only the Tribe of Judah are the Jews.
Althoug many of the Jews were scattered, Jeremiah, in 50:17 is talking about the House of Israel. We know from the context, in which he clearly separates "the children Israel", from the "children of Judah." (v.4,20)
Hosea echoes the scattering in chapter 1 verse 4.
First Peter is addressed to the "scattered expatriates." The places he names are just the locations of Israelite groups of the northeast Mediterranean.
An astounding prophecy is made by the High Priest Caiaphas in John 11:51-52. Jesus would die for the Jewish nation AND the ones scattered abroad
Jesus says he has other sheep "not of this (geographical Israel) fold." John 10:16
Jesus says that he is sent, and he sends his apostles to the "lost sheep of the House of Israel." Why not just say Israel? Jesus was specifying a particular group of Israelites.
Looking up the word gentiles in Strong's reveals the definition, "a tribe; specifically a foreign(non-Jewish) one." The Jews of Jesus' time called the Celts and Scythians Gentiles, along with all the other folks that didn't worship God. Yet a few understood. Like Peter and Paul.
Paul writes to the Roman Church. The church that was headed up by the Royal British family, a few of which were related to him by law. He says in, Romans 15:8-12, that Jesus, as well as minister to "the circumcision", but also came that the Gentiles might Glorify God.

Can there be any doubt that Christianity flowed out of Britain in the first century after the crucifixion? But remember, Joseph of Arimathea was tied into the Royal British family. And as you can see on Royal Soap and Royal House of Britain, the ties went straight into the Royal Roman family as well.
It's just an impossible piece of history. The Roman Emporer who decrees death to all Christians, becomes the wing under which the Church at Rome flourishes. He gives his daughter in marriage to the former British King, then adopts the daughter of his fiercest enemy, the British king Caradoc. And all this in the midst of the bloody war with Britain.