Restitutus Explained

Restitutus
Bishop of London?
Diocese:	Diocese of London?
Predecessor:	unknown
Successor:	unknown
Religion:	Nicaean Christianity

Restitutus was a Romano-British bishop, probably from Londinium (London), one of the British delegation who attended the church synod or Council held at Arles (Arelate), in Gaul, in AD 314.

The list of those who signed the Acta, the decisions made by the council, included three bishops, along with a "presbyter" and a "deacon", from Britain.^{[1] [2]} The British bishops were Eborius "de civitate Eboricensi" – from the city of Eboracum (York); Restitutus "de civitate Londenensi" – from the city of Londinium (London); and Adelfius "de civitate Colonia Londenensium" – from the "colonia of the people of London".

The text, which survives only in a number of later manuscript copies, is clearly corrupt in assigning two bishops to London. Since London was not a colonia,^[3] most authorities have agreed that Adelfius' see is misrecorded, with proposed alternatives including Lindum (Lincoln) or Camulodunum (Colchester).^{[2] [4] [5] [6]}

Notwithstanding the debate about the role of Adelfius, it seems most probable that the identification of Restitutus as Bishop of London was correct. However, no more is known about him, nor about his predecessors and successors in the Romano-British see of London. His name does not appear in the list of supposed early "Archbishops of London" that the 16th-century historian John Stow attributed to Jocelin of Furness.^{[7] [8]} Stow himself noted this anomaly, and the fact that Restitutus was listed as a bishop and not an archbishop; this, he felt, cast doubt on the authenticity of the list of archbishops.^[7] Later writers attempted to reconcile the two sources, usually by inserting Restitutus into "Jocelin's" list, either between Hilarius and Guitelinus,^{[9] [10]} or after Guitelinus.^[11]

See also

• List of bishops of London
• Early Christianity in Britain
• Celtic Christianity

Notes and References

1. Book: Munier . C.. Concilia Galliae a. 314-a. 506.. Corpus Christianorum. Series Latina.. 148. Latin. Turnhout. Brepols. 1963. 15–22.
2. Book: Rivet . A. L. F. . Smith. Colin . 1979. The Place-Names of Roman Britain. London. Batsford. 48–50.
3. There were only four coloniae in Roman Britain: Camulodunum (Colchester), Lindum (Lincoln) Eboracum (York) and Glevum (Gloucester). See Richmond . I. A.. Ian Richmond . 1946 . The four Coloniae of Roman Britain. Archaeological Journal. 103. 57–84.
4. Mann . J. C.. December 1961 . The Administration of Roman Britain. Antiquity. 140. 316–20.
5. Book: Thomas, Charles. Charles Thomas (historian)

   . Charles Thomas (historian). 1981. Christianity in Roman Britain to AD 500. London. Batsford. 197.

6. Miller . S. N. . 1927 . The British bishops at the Council of Arles (314) . English Historical Review. 42. 80–1.
7. Book: Stow, John. John Stow

   . John Stow . Kingsford . C. L.. A Survey of London. Oxford. Clarendon Press. 2. 1908 . 125–6.

8. Book: Birkett, Helen. Downham. Clare. Jocelin of Furness: Essays from the 2011 Conference. 2013. Shaun Tyas. 9781907730337. Donnington. 91–120. Plausible fictions: John Stow, Jocelin of Furness and The Book of British Bishops.
9. Book: Godwin, Francis. Francis Godwin

   . Francis Godwin. 1616. De praesulibus Angliae commentarius. Latin. London. John Bill. Part 1. 226–7.

10. Book: John Le Neve

    . Le Neve . John. Hardy. T. Duffus . John Le Neve. 1854. Fasti Ecclesiae Anglicanae: or a Calendar of the Principal Ecclesiastical Dignitaries in England and Wales.... Oxford. Oxford University Press. 2. 273–4. 16 March 2015.

11. Book: Godwin, Francis. Francis Godwin

    . Francis Godwin. 1601. A Catalogue of the Bishops of England, since the first planting of Christian religion in this Island.... London. George Bishop. 134–5.