June 22: Alban, First Martyr of Britain, c. 304 June 22, 2011 9
Comments Welcome to the Holy Women, Holy Men blog! We invite you
to read about this commemoration, use the collect and lessons in
prayer, whether individually or in corporate worship, and then
tell us what you think. For more information about this project,
click here. Alban is the earliest Christian in Britain who is
known by name and, according to tradition, the ﬁrst British
martyr. He was a soldier in the Roman army stationed at
Verulamium, a city about twenty miles northeast of London, now
called St. Alban’s. He gave shelter to a Christian priest who
was ﬂeeing from persecution, and was converted by him. When
ofﬁcers came to Alban’s house, he dressed himself in the
garments of the priest and gave himself up. Alban was tortured
and martyred in place of the priest, on the hilltop where the
Cathedral of St. Alban’s now stands. The traditional date of his
martyrdom is 303 or 304, but recent studies suggest that the
year was actually 209, during t