Alan Dale Gross
Active Member
HISTORY of THE WELSH BAPTISTS, FROM THE YEAR SIXTY-THREE
TO THE YEAR ONE THOUSAND SEVEN HUNDRED AND SEVENTY.
BY J. DAVIS.
"The Welsh, properly called Cumry, the inhabitants of the
Principality of Wales, are generally believed to be the descend-
ants of Gomer, the eldest son of Japheth, who was the eldest
son of Noah.* The general opinion is, that they landed on
the Isle of Britain from France, about three hundred years
after the flood. f (see footnotes at link above).
"About eleven hundred years before the Christian era, Brutus
and his men emigrated from Troy in Asia, and were cordially
received by the Welsh. They soon became one people and
spake the same language, which was the Gomeraeg, or Welsh ;
hence the Welsh people are sometimes called the Ancient
Britons.J
"About four hundred years before Christ, other emigrants
came from Spain, and were permitted by Gwrgan, the Welsh
king, to settle in Ireland, among the Ancient Britons, who were
in that country already. They, also, soon became one people,
but have not retained either the Welsh or the Spanish language ;
for the Irish language, to this day, is a mixture of both.||
"By what means the Christian religion was first introduced
into Britain, is a matter which has often engaged the pens of
historians, but whose records do not always agree.
"The tradition that Joseph of Arimathea was the first who preached the
gospel in Britain, at a place called Glastenbury, the wicker
chapel built for him by the Ancient Britons, and his walking-
stick growing to a plumtree, might be worthy of the attention
of those who can believe any thing.
"However, we are willing for those who believe that the good man who buried
our blessed Redeemer also proclaimed salvation in his name
to our forefathers, to enjoy their own opinion.
"That the apostle Paul also preached the gospel to the ancient Britons,
is very probable from the testimony of Theodoret and Jerome ; but that he was the first that introduced the gospel to
this island cannot be admitted ; for he was a prisoner in Rome
at the time the good news of salvation through the blood of
Christ reached this region.
"That the Apostle Paul had great encouragement to visit this country afterwards, will not be de-
nied. When we consider the particular inducement he might
have from Pomponia, Grecina, and Claudia Ruffina, the saints
in Cesar's household ; the former the wife of Aulus Plautius,
the first Roman governor in Britain, and the latter a Briton
born, the daughter of Caractacus the Welsh king, whose hus-
band was Pudence, a believer in Christ.*
In this capital, persons of different ranks, employments, and
offices, might be found: ambassadors, captive princes, mer-
chants, and mechanics. Many of those would be prompted
by curiosity to make inquiries concerning Paul, a noted prison-
er at Rome, famed, even before his arrival, as an abetter of a
new religion, the principal teacher and propagator of the doc-
trine of Jesus Christ, who was condemned by Pilate to the
death of the cross.
"As the apostle was permitted to live in his own hired house, guarded by a soldier, he was at liberty to
receive all who applied to him for information and instruction ;
and hereby the gracious purpose of Divine Providence in spread-
ing Christianity through the world was promoted.
"How pleasing it is to carry our views back into those remote ages, and
imagine we see the first missionaries and their disciples, assem-
bled under the shade of the wide-spreading oak, instructing the
people in the knowledge of the true God and of Jesus Christ the
Savior of mankind; disputing with the Druids, confuting their I
absurd notions, their gross conceptions, their confused and
complex mythology.
"About fifty years before the birth of our Savior, the Romans
invaded the British Isle, in the reign of the Welsh king, Cassi-
bellan; but having failed, in consequence of other and more
important wars, to conquer the Welsh nation, made peace with
them, and dwelt among them many years.
"During that period many of the Welsh soldiers joined the Roman army, and many
families from Wales visited Rome; among whom there was a
certain woman of the name of Claudia, who was married to a
man named Pudence. At the same time, Paul was sent a
prisoner to Rome, and preached there in his own hired house,
for the space of two years, about the year of our Lord 63.*
Pudence and Claudia his wife, who belonged to Cesar's house-
hold, under the blessing of God on Paul's preaching, were
brought to the knowledge of the truth as it is in Jesus, and
made a profession of the Christian religion.f
"These, together with other Welshmen, among the Roman soldiers, who had
tasted that the Lord was gracious, exerted themselves on the
behalf of their countrymen in Wales, who were at that time
vile idolaters.
"Whether any of the apostles ever preached in Britain cannot
be proved, and though it is generally believed that Joseph of
Arimathea was the first that preached the gospel in that part of
the world, we must confess that we are not positive on that sub-
ject.
"The fact, we believe, is this : the Welsh lady, Claudia,
and others, who were converted under Paul's ministry in Rome,
carried the precious seed with them, and scattered it on the
hills and vallies of Wrales;
"and since that time, many thou-
sands have reaped a most glorious harvest.
"They told their countrymen around, what a dear Savior they had found; they
pointed to his redeeming blood, as the only way whereby they
might come to God.
"The Welsh can truly say: if by the transgression of a
woman sin came into the world, it was through the instrumen-
tality of a woman, even painted Claudia, that the glorious news
of the gospel reached their ears, and they felt it to be mighty
through God, to pull down the strong holds of darkness.
"How rapidly did the mighty gospel of Christ fly abroad !
The very year 63, when Paul, a prisoner, was preaching to a
few individuals, in his own hired house in Rome, the seed
sowed there is growing in the Isle of Britain.
"We have nothing of importance to communicate respecting the Welsh Baptists,
from this period to the year 180, when two ministers by
the names of Faganus and Damicanus, who were born in
Wales, but were born again in Rome, and there becoming
eminent ministers of the gospel, were sent from Rome to assist
their brethren in Wales.J"...con't on pg 9.
TO THE YEAR ONE THOUSAND SEVEN HUNDRED AND SEVENTY.
BY J. DAVIS.
"The Welsh, properly called Cumry, the inhabitants of the
Principality of Wales, are generally believed to be the descend-
ants of Gomer, the eldest son of Japheth, who was the eldest
son of Noah.* The general opinion is, that they landed on
the Isle of Britain from France, about three hundred years
after the flood. f (see footnotes at link above).
"About eleven hundred years before the Christian era, Brutus
and his men emigrated from Troy in Asia, and were cordially
received by the Welsh. They soon became one people and
spake the same language, which was the Gomeraeg, or Welsh ;
hence the Welsh people are sometimes called the Ancient
Britons.J
"About four hundred years before Christ, other emigrants
came from Spain, and were permitted by Gwrgan, the Welsh
king, to settle in Ireland, among the Ancient Britons, who were
in that country already. They, also, soon became one people,
but have not retained either the Welsh or the Spanish language ;
for the Irish language, to this day, is a mixture of both.||
"By what means the Christian religion was first introduced
into Britain, is a matter which has often engaged the pens of
historians, but whose records do not always agree.
"The tradition that Joseph of Arimathea was the first who preached the
gospel in Britain, at a place called Glastenbury, the wicker
chapel built for him by the Ancient Britons, and his walking-
stick growing to a plumtree, might be worthy of the attention
of those who can believe any thing.
"However, we are willing for those who believe that the good man who buried
our blessed Redeemer also proclaimed salvation in his name
to our forefathers, to enjoy their own opinion.
"That the apostle Paul also preached the gospel to the ancient Britons,
is very probable from the testimony of Theodoret and Jerome ; but that he was the first that introduced the gospel to
this island cannot be admitted ; for he was a prisoner in Rome
at the time the good news of salvation through the blood of
Christ reached this region.
"That the Apostle Paul had great encouragement to visit this country afterwards, will not be de-
nied. When we consider the particular inducement he might
have from Pomponia, Grecina, and Claudia Ruffina, the saints
in Cesar's household ; the former the wife of Aulus Plautius,
the first Roman governor in Britain, and the latter a Briton
born, the daughter of Caractacus the Welsh king, whose hus-
band was Pudence, a believer in Christ.*
In this capital, persons of different ranks, employments, and
offices, might be found: ambassadors, captive princes, mer-
chants, and mechanics. Many of those would be prompted
by curiosity to make inquiries concerning Paul, a noted prison-
er at Rome, famed, even before his arrival, as an abetter of a
new religion, the principal teacher and propagator of the doc-
trine of Jesus Christ, who was condemned by Pilate to the
death of the cross.
"As the apostle was permitted to live in his own hired house, guarded by a soldier, he was at liberty to
receive all who applied to him for information and instruction ;
and hereby the gracious purpose of Divine Providence in spread-
ing Christianity through the world was promoted.
"How pleasing it is to carry our views back into those remote ages, and
imagine we see the first missionaries and their disciples, assem-
bled under the shade of the wide-spreading oak, instructing the
people in the knowledge of the true God and of Jesus Christ the
Savior of mankind; disputing with the Druids, confuting their I
absurd notions, their gross conceptions, their confused and
complex mythology.
"About fifty years before the birth of our Savior, the Romans
invaded the British Isle, in the reign of the Welsh king, Cassi-
bellan; but having failed, in consequence of other and more
important wars, to conquer the Welsh nation, made peace with
them, and dwelt among them many years.
"During that period many of the Welsh soldiers joined the Roman army, and many
families from Wales visited Rome; among whom there was a
certain woman of the name of Claudia, who was married to a
man named Pudence. At the same time, Paul was sent a
prisoner to Rome, and preached there in his own hired house,
for the space of two years, about the year of our Lord 63.*
Pudence and Claudia his wife, who belonged to Cesar's house-
hold, under the blessing of God on Paul's preaching, were
brought to the knowledge of the truth as it is in Jesus, and
made a profession of the Christian religion.f
"These, together with other Welshmen, among the Roman soldiers, who had
tasted that the Lord was gracious, exerted themselves on the
behalf of their countrymen in Wales, who were at that time
vile idolaters.
"Whether any of the apostles ever preached in Britain cannot
be proved, and though it is generally believed that Joseph of
Arimathea was the first that preached the gospel in that part of
the world, we must confess that we are not positive on that sub-
ject.
"The fact, we believe, is this : the Welsh lady, Claudia,
and others, who were converted under Paul's ministry in Rome,
carried the precious seed with them, and scattered it on the
hills and vallies of Wrales;
"and since that time, many thou-
sands have reaped a most glorious harvest.
"They told their countrymen around, what a dear Savior they had found; they
pointed to his redeeming blood, as the only way whereby they
might come to God.
"The Welsh can truly say: if by the transgression of a
woman sin came into the world, it was through the instrumen-
tality of a woman, even painted Claudia, that the glorious news
of the gospel reached their ears, and they felt it to be mighty
through God, to pull down the strong holds of darkness.
"How rapidly did the mighty gospel of Christ fly abroad !
The very year 63, when Paul, a prisoner, was preaching to a
few individuals, in his own hired house in Rome, the seed
sowed there is growing in the Isle of Britain.
"We have nothing of importance to communicate respecting the Welsh Baptists,
from this period to the year 180, when two ministers by
the names of Faganus and Damicanus, who were born in
Wales, but were born again in Rome, and there becoming
eminent ministers of the gospel, were sent from Rome to assist
their brethren in Wales.J"...con't on pg 9.
