activity took the side of the weak, the suffering, and the oppressed.
Slavery was then the normal condition of a large class, but when the
Church held slaves it protected them from ill usage. It secured
Sunday for them as a day of rest, and it often labored effectually for
their emancipation.

48. Political Influence of Christianity, 664.

More than this, Christianity had a powerful political influence. A
great synod or council was held at Whitby, on the coast of Yorkshire,
664, to decide when Easter should be observed. Delegates to that
meeting were sent from different parts of the country. After a
protracted discussion all the churches finally agreed to accept the
Roman custom. This important decision encouraged a spirit of true
religious unity. The bishops, monks, and priests who gathered at
Whitby represented Saxon tribes which were often bitterly hostile to
each other (S37), but their action on the Easter question united them
in a certain way. It made them feel that they had a common interest,
that they were members of the same Church, and that, in that Church,
they were laboring for the same object. The fact that they bowed to
one supreme spiritual authority had a political significance. It
suggested that the time might be coming when all the conflicting
tribes or petty kingdoms in Britain would acknowledge the authority of
one King, and form one English nation.

49. Egbert becomes King of Wessex, and Overlord of the Whole Country,
829.

Somewhat more than a hundred and sixty years later a great step was
taken toward the accomplishment of the political union of the