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What is the relevance
of the Celtic Church for today?
So what can an examination of the early blossoming
of Christianity in the fringes of Britain and Ireland bring to our
spiritual lives today?
As Christians we have firstly to realise that it is not just we
who look to the past and to a heritage handed down from our Celtic
ancestors. In this post-modern world Celtic legend is the strongest
single source in the current revival of interest in paganism. However,
in the same way that followers of paganism find it difficult to
acknowledge the flowering of Celtic culture that took place within
Celtic Christianity, so admirers of the early Celtic Church can
be troubled by collections of Celtic prayers and blessings containing
charms and curses.
So it is, I feel, that we need to rid ourselves of some of the romanticism
that has been handed down concerning the early Christian saints,
and whilst acknowledging the influence that they undoubtedly had
on the early Christian communities, concentrate on those elements
of their faith, doctrine and lifestyle that can bring illumination
and spiritual growth into our own.
We are not seeking to live in the past, or drift toward paganism
but take what is valuable from our Christian heritage and bring
it into a contemporary setting, where Christianity struggles not
against invasions of Angles, Jutes and Saxons, but against the enemies
of indifference, denominationalism and rejection.
In an age where time is money, and lack of time a serious problem
for so many; where the stresses and strains of daily living take
their toll both physically and spiritually it is not difficult to
see the attraction of a way of faith that finds time to be alone
with God; that is God-centred rather than self or work-centred and
which brings both beauty, truth and wholeness into lives that are,
if not empty certainly not as fulfilled as they might be.
If we sift the wheat from the chaff and look at elements that the
early monastic Church brings to us then we see the following general
features:
· 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.
If we look at these characteristics we can perhaps see influences
from both pagan and Christian beliefs. We might disagree with some,
disregard others, but there are elements here which challenge our
faith, call us to examine that which we have become comfortable
with, and look again at how we might learn to part the curtain that
has separated us from our Christian heritage and take from the past
that which can enable us to grow spiritually today.
We might also find that in doing so we can begin to connect with
a culture that cannot connect with the denominational jigsaw that
is the Church to which we belong, but is seeking to follow a spiritual
path which until now has often only been catered for by other faith
systems or new age philosophies.
It matters not whether we can claim Celtic roots or not, it is within
the scope of all of us to look at the landscape with spiritual as
well as physical eyes, and begin to appreciate it for what it is
and for the way that it influences our understanding both of ourselves
and our Creator. A growing passion for the beauty of the world in
which we work can lead to a renewal in our attitudes to the mundane
tasks that we face day be day.
We can acknowledge the importance of friendship in our lives, and
appreciate how the love of our friends mirrors the love and companionship
of God, and as our faith begins to show forth new growth our journey
can begin to take us from the familiar into more challenging circumstances
– into mission. If you want inspiration then consider Brendan
the Navigator whose voyage was immortalized by Bede. In the sixth
century legend has it that Brendon took to the sea, travelling without
oars and without sails, navigating the storms of life, and trusting
in faith to carry him through. He may, or may not have landed in
North America.
I quote from the Iona Community:
‘The past is all around us. We are the inheritors of the Celtic
tradition, with its deep sense of Jesus as the head of all, and
of God's glory in all of creation. So we use prayers from the Celtic
Church for welcome, for work, and in expressing the needs of the
world. We are the inheritors of the Benedictine tradition, with
its conviction that 'to work is to pray', its commitment to hospitality,
and its sense of order, all reflected in our services and our lifestyle...’
The Iona Community Worship Book, Wild Goose Publications, Glasgow,
1991
Celtic Christianity
(historical)
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