CELTIC SPIRITUALITY

by Malcolm Warford, Prof. Of Ministry, Lexington Theological Seminary

The people known as Celts were found in Ireland, Scotland, the Isle of Man, Cornwall, Wales, and Brittany. When the various tribes of Ireland were converted by St. Patrick (385-461) in the the fifth century a distinctive form of Christianity developed that drew upon the spiritual traditions already present in the life of the people. A Celtic cross, which is made up of a circle superimposed on a cross, expresses the unique way in which Celtic Christianity incorporated the people's sense of wholeness in creation and joined it with the image of Christ. When Patrick created the Church in Ireland he sustained the people's sense of community that was in contrast with the more hierarchical models of the Roman Church.

From the Irish monasteries, the Christian faith was spread to other parts of the region. In the sixth century, one of the Irish monks, Columba (521-597) crossed the sea and established a monastery on the island of Iona on the western coast of Scotland. Iona became a significant center for spirtual and cultural life, and today is the home of the Iona Community, a community of Christian renewal formed by George MacLeod in the 1930's.

At the Synod of Whitby in 664, the struggle between the Celtic and Roman Churches was resolved in favor of the Romans who imposed their style of church government, reorganized the nature of monastic life, and set the date of Easter. Although the Celtic tradition never achieved significant political authority in the Church, it has remained a persisting and powerful expression of the Christian faith.

At the center of the Celtic tradition is a profound appreciation for the presence of God in creation and common life. The Celtic Church valued the importance of sacred places, holy places, where there was a sense of connection between heaven and earth. At the same time, this tradition was deeply aware of the way in which our journey in this life is but a beginning of the journey that takes us into eternity. In this sense, the Celtic tradition affirmed that the religious person could never fully be at home on the earth, because our fundamental calling is to the new heaven and earth promised by God. To be a Christian, then, meant to be a pilgrim. Thus, to be in the world was both to be at home and to be in exile.

Some historians have characterized the Celtic tradition as one of "saints, scholars, and sailors" because it has included the presence of holy men and women of the church, teachers who preserved the learning and practices of faith during the "dark ages," and sailors who went to sea and maintained connections with regions as distant as Egypt. In fact, some writers have claimed that many Celtic traditions were shaped by contact with the "desert fathers" who were known for their practices of prayer and monastic life. At the heart of the Celtic tradition is the indwelling of holiness and wholeness together, and the recognition that even in the brokenness of the world in which we live we can see now and then the presence of that which is eternal, and calls us to be pilgrims.