Celtic Christianity
Matters of faith are very personal. The following is written to let the reader know about a very important aspect of my life. If somehow, my writing has inspired you to follow the path of Christianity, I ask that you get a Bible that you find easy to read, and find a church that will nurture your new found faith and welcome you like you a member of the family. I am pleased to answer any constructive questions you may have by directing them to my email address. You are welcome here, and peace be with you.
The Celts, the Iron Age warrior peoples that migrated from Central Europe to the British Isles, parts of Northern France, and the mountainous regions between modern Spain and France around 800 BC were always a fiercely independent lot, and that came to bear when Christianity came to Ireland and the rest of the Celtic World.
Ireland was visited by many Christian missionaries from Britain and the continent of Europe as the Roman Empire was going into decline, but one man has been credited with the success of creating a flourishing Christian community in Ireland. That man was Patricus or Patrick. He was a Romanized Briton that started out his formative years as a slave to an Irish king and later returned the favor not with malice but a mission. As a Catholic bishop, Patrick, in 432 AD, chose to journey to Ireland and be a missionary to the Irish people. Not only did he teach, but he also learned from the people that he came to love and cherish as his own. This can be seen in his Confessio, which one can see how Patrick believed. He became a powerful symbol of the Celtic Church and was a influence overall as the faith developed over time.
The pagan Celts believed that all of the Earth and the elements of nature were sacred, and the main deity they worshipped was a three-in-one god. More Christian missionaries came to the Celts, preaching about a Three-in-One God, and the Celts took very easily to the concept of the Trinity. As the Celts took to the God of the missionaries, the preachers of the Gospel avoided the trap of destroying the more mystical pagan ways of the Celtic culture, instead, they merged them into the faith. This formed a more rustic faith that almost seemed to be a complete 180 from the very formalistic Catholic Church of the European continent. Celtic Christianity also began in a world that was not dominated by the Roman Empire as the rest of Europe was. This meant that Christianity in the Celtic world could develop in its own unique way without the authoritarian and primarily male-dominated ways of Latin Rite Catholicism. Deriving influence from Druid and Pagan roots, Eastern Orthodoxy from Asia Minor (Modern Turkey), and the culture of a tribal and rural society, Celtic Christianity became unique in Europe, known primarily for a love of nature, a lack of a wall between the sacred and the secular, allowing women to be equal and preside over matters of the church, and an emphasis on community and relationships between people. It was a very distinct church in comparison to the rest of Europe.
Author and Celtic church historian, Michael Mitton described Celtic Christianity basically with this list of tenets that was followed by the Fourth Century AD Irish, Welsh, Scots, Bretons, Manx, Galitians, and the Cornish:
"I discovered a burning and evangelical love for the Bible … a depth of spiritual life and stillness … a radical commitment to the poor and to God's creation; and the most attractive expression of charismatic life that I had yet encountered. … I am in no doubt that the Spirit of God is reminding us of the first expression of faith in these isles to give us inspiration for Christian ministry and mission today."
Celtic Christianity has found favor in a tough modern world. Some people, tiring of the way the church is moving, have immersed themselves in this ancient faith. Skimming over the romantic notions of this very exotic expression of Christianity and the obvious pagan influences that make some uncomfortable, many such as myself are drawn to this expression of the faith, because it emphasizes being alone with God on a one-on-one basis without the indifference, denominationalism, and rejection that seems to have pervaded modern Christianity. With the Celtic faith, one is free to take some ideas to heart and reject others, but the many of the basics of this old monastic form of Christianity are universally accepted by adherents like myself:
· A genuine love of nature and a passion for God’s creation, coupled with a sense of closeness between the natural and supernatural.
· A love of art and poetry, seen within surviving illuminated Gospels and other works.
· Although they seem to have been theologically orthodox, there was a distinct emphasis on the Trinity, respect for Mary the Mother of Christ, the Incarnation and the use within worship of early forms of liturgy.
· Within their religious life we see an emphasis on solitude, pilgrimage and mission, sacred locations and tough penitential acts.
· There were few boundaries between the sacred and the secular
· We see an emphasis on family and kinship ties.
· There seems to have been greater equality for women than we see generally in the Church today.
· A generous hospitality was an important part of everyday life.
Drawing from the past, Christians on the Celtic path find that they are connecting passionately with God in all aspects of life, making for a more mystical experience much like that was found in the early churches of the early First Century AD. This form of Christianity is "not so much of doing things as of seeing things". (Joyce, 159) It is a simple faith that emphasizes warmth, security, and protectiveness and the adventurous spirit offered by a challenge to commit to and be transformed by God. Being challenged by God in this way, makes for a more action-oriented ministry that is not only very God-centered but people-centered. This type of spirituality has found its way into many churches offering a renewal that has left an indelible mark on the faithful as it celebrates an ancient and mystical world.
Source Material Cited
Birch, John "Celtic Influence". Faith and Worship. http://www.faithandworship.com/index.htm
Gill, Elaine and Everett, David. Celtic Pilgrimages: Sites, Seasons, and Saints. New York: Sterling Publishing Company, Inc., 1997.
Joyce, Timothy. Celtic Christianity. Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books, 1998.
If you are interested in learning more about Celtic Spirituality, visit the following links.
