According to Bede, Gregory got the idea to send missionaries to convert the British Isles when he discovered that slaves sold in a Roman market were not Christian.

• A. True
• B. False
• C. Not stated
• D. Unknown

Answer: (A)

The idea being tested is why Gregory decided to send missionaries to England, as Bede narrates it. In Bede’s account, Gregory is told about Britons who were enslaved in Rome and not Christian. Seeing that these people were from Britain and spoke English, he reportedly exclaims that they are not Angles to be judged as pagan, but angels to be converted, and this encounter motivates him to send missionaries, notably Augustine, to convert the English realm. This link between discovering non-Christians among foreigners in Rome and launching a missionary campaign is explicit in Bede, so the statement matches his narrative. The event sets the stage for the later Christianization of the English church, with Augustine’s mission to Kent around 597 CE illustrating the outcome of that motivation.