St Mary
Eastling, Kent
The church is set back from the road and is surrounded by mature yew trees (one of which is more than 2,000 years old), with only the spire visible above them.
We are the Cathedral Church of St Augustine of Canterbury which houses the seat of the Bishop of the Anglican Catholic Diocese of the United Kingdom. We are separate from both the Roman Catholic Church and the Church of England, but we hold a cheerful good will to both of these churches and to all Christians.
Calling ourselves a “cathedral” may seem a little odd – we are aware that our church is very small. But in the sanctuary, you will find the Bishop’s chair or cathedra, and it is usual for the building housing such a chair to be known as a cathedral.
In 2008 Bishop Mead commissioned an Icon of a local Kentish Saint, Blessed Elizabeth Barton, known as the ‘Maid of Kent’ or 'Nun of Kent' who was a Benedictine nun at St Sepulchre’s Convent in Canterbury (the area is now known as Nunnery Fields). Blessed Elizabeth had visions of the Blessed Virgin Mary and was martyred on the orders of Henry VIII on 21st of April, 1534. The Icon and its story has been featured in Local Newspapers and on BBC Radio Kent. We believe it to be the only such depiction of Blessed Elizabeth Barton in the world. Bishop Starks (mentioned above) blessed the Icon on Easter Day 2008.
On the Feast of the Assumption, 15th August 2009, Bishop Mead blessed the Relic House within which he placed the Relic of the Veil of the Blessed Virgin Mary. This relic had been gifted to the parish and originates from a closed convent in Belgium. It was accompanied by a document of authentication dated 1909. On Sunday, 2nd February 2020, the Bishop blessed the installation of our Relic of the Veil of the Blessed Virgin Mary in a new reliquary. Handcarved in Ukraine from oak and fashioned as an icon of The Protection of the Theotokos, we now have a suitable holder for veneration of the relic.
In October 2017, following a lengthy process, the congregation completed the purchase of our very own building. The former Whitehill Methodist Church & Champion Hall, in the village of Painters Forstal. On Saturday 26th May 2018 the Pro Cathedral Church of Saint Augustine, Painters Forstal, Faversham, had our Patronal celebration. Before Mass we asked Gods blessing upon the Church and formally dedicated it to our Patron, St Augustine of Canterbury, on this his Feast Day. We welcomed members, friends and guests.
As a finishing touch to the internal refurbishment of the church building attention turned in 2021 to the windows. Ordering replacement frames for 4 of the windows which were in considerable bad way, on a limited budget, faux stained glass panels, depicting the life of Christ were chosen and ordered by Bishop Damien and inserted in the windows down both sides of the church.
The central west windows were added later. These depict, around a central image of Christ in Glory, four Saints closely connected to the story of St Augustine of Canterbury, our patron. The top left is St Gregory the Great, bottom left is St Augustine himself, top right St Ethelbert, the King of Kent who welcomed our patron to his Kingdom and bottom right St Bertha, Queen of Kent, who was already a Christian and encouraged the establishment of the new Mission in Kent. Two windows designed at the same time as the side windows were installed before the central windows on the West Wall, in each corner. They depict the Death of St Joseph and, in the Lady Chapel area, the Coronation of Mary, Queen of Heaven.