Thursday 3rd October

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Dear All,

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Bible Reading: Jesus said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation. Mark 16:15

 

Reflection: There is a surge in interest in spiritual formation, ancient paths and prayer rituals, Celtic Christianity here is an extract from the article on the first missionaries to the British Isles, entitled How the British Isles were evangelised by Dr Richard Roberts. For those who are interested the whole article is attached at the end of the extract:

 Today, despite the increasing secularisation of our society, we take for granted that Christianity is embedded in significant parts of our culture and establishment – from the Royal Family and Lords Spiritual, to the basis of our moral code and laws. But what are the origins of Christianity in Britain? 

The Romans were the first to bring the good news of Jesus to British shores. But initially, Christianity was regarded with suspicion and, in the third century, the first British Christian martyr, St Alban, was put to death by Roman soldiers, possibly for sheltering a priest fleeing persecution. This was followed by the deaths of two martyrs in the fourth century at Caerleon, Wales. In 312 AD, the emperor Constantine claimed to have been converted and in 313, an edict was issued proclaiming tolerance for all religions. Eventually, Christianity became the official religion of the Roman Empire, including Britain. But while Christianity dominated the private and public life of wealthier Romano-British citizens (genetically Britons but culturally Roman), paganism retained a foothold in the more rural areas, where Druids offered sacrifices to Celtic deities at springs and other sacred sites.

By the 390s, Roman legions had begun to withdraw from Britain and Angles, Jutes and Saxons took advantage of the power vacuum. In central and southern Britain, Anglo-Saxon paganism was very much on the resurgence. This was a time of upheaval for the peoples in Britain, with the Church gradually becoming confined to the western fringes such as Wales, Cornwall and Strathclyde in the north-west. These regions, along with Ireland, Scotland, the Isle of Man and parts of France, spoke various Celtic languages and, because of sea trading, the Celts were in much closer contact with one another than we might have thought…

When speaking about ‘the Celtic Church’ we should remember that we are dealing with Christians who spoke several different Celtic languages and whose churches and monasteries spanned many centuries – there was certainly never one monolithic Celtic Church.

Celtic Christians emphasised God’s presence in the natural world and especially the ‘thin places’ where the reality of the unseen realm seems more easily discernible. Another feature, particularly of Irish monasticism, is that it relied heavily on a tribal system of organisation. Hence churches and monasteries such as Iona favoured local leadership of abbots and abbesses, with less emphasis on the more centralised system of bishops and archbishops that was prominent elsewhere. It could be that such localism even today is key to the Church’s mission in the UK. 

There is, however, a danger that this notion of ‘Celtic Christianity’ can become a projection of our desire to create a fictional, idealised Church to which we aspire. Myths abound, such as the idea that it was a non-authoritarian and free-flowing Church, when in reality, Celtic monasteries were very strongly hierarchical. In addition, although there is evidence that Celtic evangelists adopted pagan sites and ‘Christianised’ them, they certainly did not blend Christianity with paganism. There is no doubt that they sought clear conversion from other belief systems to make disciples for Jesus. 

Theirs was a commitment to radical obedience, including the idea of peregrination, and the missional effectiveness of Celtic monks and nuns was founded upon rigorous rhythms of prayer, reciting the Psalms and various forms of self-denial, as well as sacrificial hospitality, generosity and the painstaking learning and copying out of scripture. Such practices, which many are re-emphasising today, resulted in the sort of personal spiritual formation and resilience required for effective mission – both then and now. 

 

Photos:

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The spread of Christianity was reliant upon small monasteries, such as this one in County Kerry, Ireland

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Glendalough Monastery in County Wicklow, Ireland was established in the sixth century

 

Worship through music: 

Here I am Lord (I the Lord of sea and sky) words and music (1979) by Daniel L. Schutte recorded (2021)by Ruth and Joy Everingham. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UA2fMeXEKLA

 

 

 

 

 

God bless,

 Jane 🙏