Celtic

I'm not sure what I expected to find when I looked for things Celtic in Scotland. Maybe men with long hair walking through the oak forests looking for misletoe, as in the Druid stories. Maybe the values of ancient Celtic Christianity being lived out in modern Scottish life. But all that I could find of Celtic writ large is what you see in the photos!

Celtic Christianity has a rather complicated history. This sketchis way too short, but here goes. Roman Christianity never did make its way up to the Highlands or to Ireland. When Rome was sacked in 413 and all the troops were called back to the continent to help, Roman Christianity pretty much went with them.

What remained in the western fringes was a Christianity that grew up in isolation. St. Columba brought the Celtic version of Christianity to the Isle of Iona from Ireland in the 500's. He set up a monastery there on what might have already been a sacred site. His approach to missionary work was like St. Patrick's. Neither saw benefit in trying to erase all they found in the communities they "discovered." Rather, they found what was compatible with their truth and incorporated it. St. Patrick said, "Christ is my Druid," kind of like St. Paul when he found the temple to the Unknown God and said to the worshippers, "Ah! I see you have been worshipping the true God all along. Jesus is the name!"

The Celtic branch of Christianity valued creation, seeing God in all things. It called all creation "good." They understood God to be with them in the dailyness of life, the visible and the invisible being inseparable. Women were allowed to use their leadership skills. They were not hierarchical. The focus was not a city or cathedral but rather a monastery that interacted with a rural community. They "listened to the heartbeat of God" in daily life, following St. John the Beloved Disciple.

Rome tended to follow St. Peter, and the church, having become the official religion, was concerned about order, structure, and not too many heresies. The church was an urban one, and the bishops were socially at a level with other high ranking city dwellers who were close to power.

When I asked the Dean of St. Mary's Cathedral about what he saw as the impact of Celtic Christianity on the church today, he could find no impact. "Celtic is 'airy-fairy' and you are more likely to find a book of Celtic spells in the bookstore than of Celtic prayers."

As we conversed, we agreed that the 21st century church has woven together many threads to create the fabic she is today. The values of the Celtic Christians of so long ago are addessed by others. Praying without ceasing, slowing down to listen to the heartbeat of God in creation and in one another, using the gifts each brings, integrating worship into daily life as opposed to leaving it for Sunday--these are a few of the gifts of a Celtic approach to us moderns.

What do you think?