Laurence was the second Archbishop of Canterbury, serving from about 604 to 619. He was a member of the Gregorian mission sent from Italy to England to Christianise the Anglo-Saxons from their native Anglo-Saxon paganism, although the date of his arrival is disputed. He was consecrated archbishop by his predecessor, Augustine of Canterbury, during Augustine's lifetime, to ensure continuity in the office. While archbishop, he attempted unsuccessfully to resolve differences with the native British bishops by corresponding with them about points of dispute. Laurence faced a crisis following the death of King Æthelberht of Kent, when the king's successor abandoned Christianity; he eventually reconverted. Laurence was revered as a saint after his death in 619.
Gravestone marking the site of Laurence's burial in St Augustine's Abbey, Canterbury
The evangelist portrait of Luke, from the St. Augustine Gospels (c. 6th century), which were probably used by Laurence.
The Gregorian mission or Augustinian mission was a Christian mission sent by Pope Gregory the Great in 596 to convert Britain's Anglo-Saxons. The mission was headed by Augustine of Canterbury. By the time of the death of the last missionary in 653, the mission had established Christianity among the southern Anglo-Saxons. Along with the Irish and Frankish missions it converted Anglo-Saxons in other parts of Britain as well and influenced the Hiberno-Scottish missions to continental Europe.
Portrait labelled "AVGVSTINVS" from the mid-8th century Saint Petersburg Bede, though perhaps intended as Gregory the Great
Gregory dictating, from a 10th-century manuscript
Site of the graves of Laurence, Mellitus and Justus at St Augustine's Abbey, Canterbury
Ruins at Canterbury of St Augustine's Abbey, founded by Augustine.