Celtic Christianity
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/* Secondary Sources */
{{History of Celtic Christianity}}
'''Celtic Christianity''', or '''Insular Christianity''' (sometimes commonly called the '''Celtic Church''') broadly refers to the [[Early Middle Ages|Early Medieval]] Christian practice that first developed around the coastal areas of the [[Irish Sea]] on the islands of [[Ireland]] and [[Great Britain]]. This took place in the 5th and 6th centuries with the various tribes of [[Celts]] and [[Britons]] native to this area. Then through the works of [[Columba]] and [[Aidan of Lindisfarne|Aidan]] it was spread to others on Great Britain, such as the [[Picts]] and [[Northumbrians]] respectively. In this sense, Celtic (or Insular) Christianity may be distinguished by certain unique traditions (especially matters of liturgy and ritual) that were different from those of the greater sub-Roman world.
The term “Celtic Christianity” is sometimes extended beyond the seventh century to describe later Christian practice in these areas; however, because the history of Irish, Welsh, Scots, Breton, Cornish, and Manx Churches diverges significantly after the eighth century (resulting in a great difference between even rival Irish traditions), historians generally avoid this use of the term in this context.<ref>Patrick Wormald, ‘Bede and the ‘Church of the English’’, in ''The Times of Bede'', ed. Stephen Baxter (Oxford: Blackwell Publishing, 2006), pp. 223-224 n. 1</ref> Furthermore, historians do not employ the term “Celtic Church”, since that entails a sense of there being a unified and identifiable entity separated from greater Western Christendom.<ref>Kathleen Hughes, "The Celtic Church: Is This a Valid Concept?", ''O'Donnell lectures in Celtic Studies'', University of Oxford 1975 (published in ''Cambridge Medieval Celtic Studies'', 1 [1981], pp. 1-20).</ref><ref>Wendy Davies, "The Myth of the Celtic Church", in ''The Early Church in Wales and the West'', Oxbow Monograph, no. 16, edited by Nancy Edwards and Alan Lane, 12-21. Oxford: Oxbow, 1992.</ref>
== Identity and terminology ==
It is easy to exaggerate the cohesiveness of the [[Celt]]ic Christian communities. Scholars have long recognised that the term “Celtic Church” is simply inappropriate to describe Christianity among [[Celtic languages|Celtic-speaking]] peoples, since this would imply a notion of unity, or a self-identifying entity, that simply did not exist.<ref> Dáibhí Ó Cróinín, ''Early Medieval Ireland 400-1200'' (London, 1995); T. M. Charles-Edwards, ''Early Christians Ireland'' (Cambridge, 2000); W. Davies, ‘The Myth of the Celtic Church’, in N. Edwards and A. Lane, ''The Early Church in Wales and the West'' (Oxbow Monograph 16, Oxford, 1992), pp. 12-21; Kathleen Hughes, ‘The Celtic Church: is this a valid concept?’, in ''Cambridge Medieval Celtic Studies'' 1 (1981), pp. 1-20; Kathleen Hughes, ''The Church in Early English Society'' (London, 1966); W. Davies and P. Wormald, ''The Celtic Church'' (Audio Learning Tapes, 1980).</ref> As Patrick Wormald explained, “One of the common misconceptions is that there was a ‘Roman Church’ to which the ‘Celtic’ was nationally opposed.”<ref>Patrick Wormald, ‘Bede and the ‘Church of the English’’, in ''The Times of Bede'', ed. Stephen Baxter (Oxford: Blackwell Publishing, 2006), p. 207.</ref> Celtic-speaking areas were part of Latin [[Christendom]] as a whole, wherein a significant degree of liturgical and structural variation existed, along with a collective veneration of the [[Pope|Bishop of Rome]] that was no less intense in Celtic areas.<ref>Richard Sharpe, ‘Some problems concerning the organization of the Church in early medieval Ireland’, ''Peritia'' 3 (1984), pp. 230-270; Patrick Wormald, ‘Bede and the ‘Church of the English’’, in ''The Times of Bede'', ed. Stephen Baxter (Oxford: Blackwell Publishing, 2006), pp. 207-208, 220 n. 3</ref> Nonetheless, it is possible to talk about certain traditions present in Celtic-speaking lands, and the development and spread of these traditions, especially in the sixth and seventh centuries. Some scholars have chosen to apply the term ‘Insular Christianity’ to this Christian practice that arose around the [[Irish Sea]], a cultural nexus in the sub-Roman period that has been called the ‘Celtic Mediterranean’.<ref>Peter Brown, ''The Rise of Western Christendom'', 2nd edition (Oxford, Blackwell Publishing, 2003), pp. 16, 51, 129, 132.</ref> The term “Celtic Christianity” may also be employed simply in the sense of different Catholic practices, institutions, and saints amongst the Celtic peoples, in which case it could be used meaningfully well beyond the seventh century.
== History ==
[[Image:Stpatrick hilloftara.jpg|thumb|right|225px|St. Patrick, Apostle to the Irish]]
As the most remote province of the [[Roman Empire]], [[Roman Britain|Britain]] was reached by Christianity in the first few centuries of the Christian era, with the first recorded martyr in Britain being [[Saint Alban|St. Alban]] (during the reign of [[Diocletian]]). The process of Christianisation intensified following the legalization of the religion under [[Constantine I|Constantine]] in the [[4th century]], and its promotion by subsequent Christian emperors. In 407, the Empire withdrew its legions from the province to defend Italy from [[Visigoths|Visigothic]] attack. The city of Rome would be sacked in 410, and the legions did not permanently return to Britain. Thus, Roman governmental influence ended on the isle, and, with the following decline of Roman imperial political influence, Britain and the surrounding isles developed distinctively from the rest of the West. The Irish Sea acted as a centre from which a new culture developed among the Celtic peoples, and Christianity acted centrally in this process. What emerged, religiously, was a form of Insular Christianity, with certain distinct traditions and practices. The religion spread to [[Ireland]] at this time, though the island had never been part of the [[Roman Empire]], establishing a unique organization around monasteries, rather than episcopal dioceses. Important figures in the process were SS. [[Saint Ninian|Ninian]], [[Palladius]], and [[Saint Patrick|Patrick]] (the "Apostle to the Irish"). Meanwhile, this development was paralleled by the advent of the [[Anglo-Saxons|Anglo-Saxon]] (English) migration / invasion into eastern Britain from [[Frisia]] and other [[Germanic peoples|Germanic]] areas, resulting in cultural hostility in Britain between the British and the (then pagan) English.
In the sixth and seventh centuries, Irish monks established monastic institutions in parts of modern day Scotland (especially [[Columba|St. Columba]], also known as Colum Cille), and on the [[Continental Europe|continent]], particularly in Gaul (especially [[Columbanus|St. Columbanus]]). Monks from [[Iona Abbey|Iona]], under [[Aidan of Lindisfarne|St. Aidan]], then founded the See of [[Lindisfarne]] in [[Anglo-Saxons|Anglo-Saxon]] [[Northumbria]] in [[635]], whence Celtic practice heavily influenced northern England. These renewed links with the greater Latin West brought the Celtic-speaking peoples into close contact with other subgroups of Catholicism. Thus, the issue of certain customs and traditions particular to Insular Christianity became, to an extent, a matter of dispute, especially the matter of the proper calculation of Easter. Synods were held in Ireland, Gaul, and England (e.g. the [[Synod of Whitby]]) where the Easter question was resolved, resulting in the adoption of one method for calculating Easter. A degree of variation continued, and to an extent was encouraged, evidenced by the issuance of a papal privilege by [[Pope Honorius I|Pope Honorius]] to the Columbanus’s monastery of [[Bobbio]] freeing the institution for [[Franks|Frankish]] episcopal oversight. Furthermore, the cultural exchange was mutual, evidenced by the spread of a uniquely Irish [[penance|penitential system]], eventually adopted as a universal practice of the Church by the [[Fourth Lateran Council]] of 1215.
Other important Celtic saints, or saints who influenced the development of Christianity amongst the Celtic-speaking peoples, include [[saint|SS.]] [[Dubricius]], [[Illtud]], [[Saint David|David]], [[Cadoc]], [[Deiniol]], [[Samson of Dol|Samson]], [[Paul Aurelian]], [[Saint Petroc|Petroc]], [[Saint Piran|Piran]], [[Ia of Cornwall|Ia]], [[Saint Brigid|Brigid]], [[Saint Moluag|Moluag]], [[Saint Kentigern|Kentigern]] (aka Mungo), and [[Germanus of Auxerre]].
==Distinctive traditions==
[[Image:Celtic cross Knock Ireland.jpg|right|thumb|195px|The [[Celtic Cross]] in [[Knock, Belfast|Knock]], [[Ireland]].]]
Because Celtic Christianity is a broad term, it is difficult to define precisely which practices diverged from the remainder of the Latin West except in a general sense. In any specific area there will be exceptions to the list that follows. <ref>This list includes information from Charles Plummer's essay, "Excursus on the Paschal Controversy and Tonsure" in his edition ''Venerablilis Baedae, Historiam Ecclesiasticam Gentis Anglorum'', 1892 (Oxford: University Press, 1975), pp. 348-354.</ref>
=== Episcopal structure ===
By the seventh century, the established ecclesiastical structure for [[Roman Catholic Church|Catholicism]] on the [[Continental Europe|Continent]] consisted of one [[Bishop (Catholic Church)|bishop]] for each [[diocese]]. The bishop would reside in a “[[Episcopal see|see]]”, or a city able to support a [[cathedral]]. This structure was in part based on the secular administrative organisation of the [[Roman Empire]], which had subdivided provinces into “dioceses” (see [[Roman province]]).
It was after Christianity had spread throughout the Empire, and especially after the advent of the Christian Emperor [[Constantine I]], that dioceses had acquired an administrative function within the Church. Most of the Celtic world, however, had never been part of the Roman Empire, and even the notable exceptions of [[Wales]], [[Devon]], and [[Cornwall]] were nonetheless without developed cities. Hence, a much different ecclesiastical structure was needed for Insular Christianity, especially in [[Ireland]].
What emerged was a structure based around [[monastery|monastic networks]] ruled by [[abbot]]s. These abbots were of royal kin. The nobility who ruled over different tribes, and whose sources of power were rural estates, integrated the monastic institutions they established into their royal houses and domains. Abbots were [[monk|monastic]], and thus were not necessarily [[Holy Orders (Catholic Church)|ordained]] (i.e. they were not necessarily [[Priesthood (Catholic Church)|priests]] or bishops), and so bishops were still needed, since certain [[Sacraments (Catholic Church)|sacramental]] functions were reserved only for the ordained; however, unlike on the Continent, these bishops had little authority within Celtic ecclesiastical structure.<ref> Eric John, ‘The Social and Political Problems of the Early English Church’, in ''Anglo-Saxon History: Basic Readings'', ed. David A. E. Pelteret (New York & London: Garland Publishing, 2000), pp. 32-34.</ref>
=== Liturgical and ritual practices ===
==== Easter calculation ====
A distinguishing mark of Celtic Christianity was its distinct conservatism, even archaism.<ref>Patrick Wormald, Bede and the Church of the English, in ''The Times of Bede'', ed. Stephen Baxter (Oxford, Blackwell Publishing, 2006), p. 224 n. 1.</ref> One example is their method of calculating Easter. Calculating the proper date of Easter was (and is) a complicated process involving a [[lunisolar calendar]]. Various tables were produced in antiquity that attempted to calculate Easter for a series of years. Insular Christianity used a calculation table (Celtic-84) that was similar to one approved by St. [[Jerome]]. However, by the sixth and seventh centuries it had become obsolete and had been replaced by those of [[Victorius of Aquitaine]] and, more accurately, those of [[Dionysius Exiguus]]. As the Celtic world established renewed contact with the Continent it became aware of the divergence; most groups, like the southern Irish, accepted the updated tables with relatively little difficulty, with the notable exception of monks from the [[Iona Abbey|monastery of Iona]] and its many satellite institutions.<ref> Eric John, The Social and Political Problems of the Early English Church, in Anglo-Saxon History: Basic Readings, ed. David A. E. Pelteret (New York & London: Garland Publishing, 2000), p. 34</ref> For example, the southern Irish accepted the common Easter calculation at the Synod of Mag Léne around [[630]], as did the northern Irish at the Council of Birr around [[697]], and Northumbria with the [[Synod of Whitby]] in 664. Nonetheless, in 716 Iona converted its practice.
[[Image:Fra Angelico 052.jpg|right|thumb|175px|The "Roman" [[tonsure]], in the shape of a crown, differing from the Irish tradition, where the hair above the forehead was shaved.]]
==== Monastic tonsure ====
Irish monks kept a distinct [[tonsure]], or method of cutting one’s hair, to distinguish their social identity as monks (rather than warriors or peasants, who wore different styles of hair). The ‘Celtic’ tonsure involved cutting away the hair above one’s forehead. This differed from the prevailing custom, which was to shave the top of the head, leaving a halo of hair (in imitation of Christ’s [[crown of thorns]]).
=== Penitentials ===
In Ireland a distinctive form of [[Sacrament of Penance (Catholic Church)|penance]] developed, where confession was made privately to a priest, under the seal of secrecy, and where penance was given privately and ordinarily performed privately as well.<ref>''Medieval Handbooks of Penance'', eds. John T. McNeil and Helena M. Gamer (New York, Columba University Press, 1938), p. 28</ref> Certain handbooks were made, called “penitentials”, designed as a guide for confessors and as a means of regularising the penance given for each particular sin.
In antiquity, penance had been a public ritual. Penitents were divided into a separate part of the church during liturgical worship, and they came to mass wearing [[sackcloth]] and ashes in a process known as ''exomologesis'' that often involved some form of general confession.<ref>''Medieval Handbooks of Penance'', eds. John T. McNeil and Helena M. Gamer (New York, Columba University Press, 1938), pp. 7-9</ref> There is evidence that this public penance was preceded by a private confession to a bishop or priest (''sacerdos''), and it seems that, for some sins, private penance was allowed instead.<ref>''Medieval Handbooks of Penance'', eds. John T. McNeil and Helena M. Gamer (New York, Columba University Press, 1938), pp. 9-12.</ref> Nonetheless, penance and reconciliation was prevailingly a public rite (sometimes unrepeatable), which included [[absolution]] at its conclusion.<ref>''Medieval Handbooks of Penance'', eds. John T. McNeil and Helena M. Gamer (New York, Columba University Press, 1938), pp. 13-17.</ref>
The Irish penitential practice spread throughout the continent, where the form of public penance had fallen into disuse. [[Columbanus|St. Columbanus]] was credited with introducing the ''medicamenta paentitentiae'', the “medicines of penance”, to Gaul at a time when they had come to be neglected.<ref>Peter Brown, ''The Rise of Western Christendom'', 2nd edition (Oxford: Blackwell Publishing, 2003), p. 252</ref> Though the process met some resistance, by 1215 the practice had become established as the norm, with the [[Fourth Lateran Council]] establishing a canonical statute requiring confession at a minimum of once per year.
== Achievement ==
The achievements of Christianity in the Celtic-speaking world are significant beyond what could be expected. Irish society, for example, had no history of literacy until the advent of Christianity, yet within a few generations of the arrival of the first missionaries the monastic and clerical class of the isle had become fully integrated with the culture of Latin letters. Besides just Latin, Irish ecclesiastics developed a written language for [[Old Irish language|Old Irish]]. Likewise, they adapted the Christian episcopal structure to an environment that was wholly different from the prevailing sub-Roman world. Irish monks also founded monastic networks throughout Gaul and [[Northumbria]], exerting a profound influence greater than many Continental centres that could boast much more ancient traditions.<ref> Eric John, ‘The Social and Political Problems of the Early English Church’, in Anglo-Saxon History: Basic Readings, ed. David A. E. Pelteret (New York & London: Garland Publishing, 2000), p. 36.</ref> One example is the spread of the cult of [[Saint Peter|Peter]] within Gaul, which was largely the product of Irish influence, and the similar veneration for the papacy. Hence the first issuance of a papal privilege granting a monastery freedom from episcopal oversight was that of Pope Honorius I to one of Columbanus's institutions.<ref> Eric John, ‘The Social and Political Problems of the Early English Church’, in Anglo-Saxon History: Basic Readings, ed. David A. E. Pelteret (New York & London: Garland Publishing, 2000), p. 37.</ref> But perhaps the best example is the development of the Irish penitential practice.
== Myths and symbolism ==
The notion of a "Celtic Church," and its nature, has been a continual source of disagreement and [[Symbolism]], beginning especially with the [[Protestant Reformation]]. Some Roman Catholic apologists portray the idea of a separate tradition from that of Rome as an anachronism and mythological, for example, authors such as [[George Buchanan]] are suggested to have supplied “the initial propaganda for the makers of the Scottish Kirk” by inventing the notion of a national “Celtic” Church opposed to a “Roman” one.<ref>Patrick Wormald, ‘Bede and the ‘Church of the English’, in ''The Times of Bede'', p. 207.</ref> Any notion of a Celtic Church or unique tradition is completely rejected within the writings of some scholars. <ref>Dáibhí Ó. Cróinín’s ''Early Medieval Ireland: 400-1200'', T. M. Charles-Edwards’s ''Early Christian Ireland'', W. Davies’s ‘The Myth of the Celtic Church’, and Kathleen Hughes’s ‘The Celtic Church: is this a valid concept?’ (her answer was, no), "The Celtic Church: Is This a Valid Concept?", ''O'Donnell lectures in Celtic Studies'', University of Oxford 1975 (published in ''Cambridge Medieval Celtic Studies'', 1 (1981), pp. 1-20; Wendy Davies, "The Myth of the Celtic Church", in ''The Early Church in Wales and the West'', Oxbow Monograph, no. 16, edited by Nancy Edwards and Alan Lane, 12-21. Oxford: Oxbow, 1992, Patrick Wormald stated, “The idea that there ''was'' a ‘Celtic Church’ in something of a post-Reformation sense is still maddeningly ineradicable from the minds of students.” </ref> Patrick Wormald also observed that, “It is difficult to resist the impression that what Protestant [[Confessionalism (religion)|Confessionalism]] did for the idea of a ‘Celtic’ church until the 1960s is now being done by ‘[[new age]]’ paganism,” based on notions of some sort of "Celtic spirituality" allegedly distinguished by a unique ‘closeness to nature’.<ref>Patrick Wormald, ‘Bede and the ‘Church of the English’, in ''The Times of Bede'', pp. 223-4 n1.</ref>
However, what might be accepted or rejected as historically factual does not detract from the symbolic nature of a Celtic Church which was overtaken by Romanised Christianity such that the [[Reformation]] and related political events could be interpreted as return to true and original Christian traditions. Ultimately, we know a Celtic church tradition did exist, that a decision was made at Whitby to support the Roman church which resulted in its suppression. In varying degrees since the [[Reformation]], the basis for an equally historical, but temporarily suppressed Protestant church based on Celtic traditions, has been asserted. The historical legitimacy of this is debatable, but its symbolism is clear and was used by previous anti-Roman movements such as the [[Lollards]] and followers of [[John Wyclif]]<ref>Tuchman, B. (1978) ''A Distant Mirror'' Ballantine Books, New York. ISBN 0-345-34957-1</ref>
== See also ==
* [[Pelagianism]]
* [[Anglicanism]]
* [[Celtic Catholic Church]]
* [[Celtic Orthodox Church]]
* [[Celtic Rite]]
* [[Iro-Scottish monks]]
* [[Papar]]
* [[Sarum Rite]]
* [[Early Insular Christianity]]
* [[Quartodecimanism]]
* [[Culdee]]
* [[Immram]]
* [[Sub-Roman Britain]]
{{Celts}}
==References==
{{reflist|2}}
==Bibliography==
===Primary Sources===
* Adomnan, ''Life of Columba'', ed. A. O. and M. O. Anderson, 2nd edition (Oxford Medieval Texts, 1991)
* ''Annales Cambriae'', ed. Rev. John Williams ab Ithel (London : Longman, Green, Longman and Roberts, 1860)
* Bede, ''Historiam Ecclesiasticam Gentis Angelorum'', in Venerabilis Baedae Opera Historica. ed. C. Plummer (Oxford, 1896)
* Cummian, ''De controversia paschali'' and ''De ratione conputandi'', <eds. Maura Walsh and Dáibhí Ó Cróinín (Toronto: Pontifical Institute of Mediaeval Studies, 1988), pp. 93-5.
* Gildas, ''De Excidio Brittaniae'', ed. J. A. Giles, Six Old English Chronicles (London, 1848)
* ''Historia Brittonum'', ed. J. A. Giles, Six Old English Chronicles (London, 1848)
* Medieval Handbooks of Penance, eds. J. T. McNeill and H. M. Gamer (New York: Columba University Press, 1939)
* Patrick (Saint), ''Confessio'', ed. and trans. John Skinner (Image, 1998)
===Secondary Sources===
* Brown, Peter. ''The Rise of Western Christendom: Triumph and Diversity'', 2nd ed. (Oxford: Blackwell Publishing, 2003).
* Cahill, Thomas. ''How the Irish Saved Civilization'' (Anchor, 1996). ISBN 0385418493
* Charles-Edwards. T. M. ''Early Christian Ireland'' (Cambridge, 2000).
* Cróinín, Dáibhí Ó. ''Early Medieval Ireland: 400-1200'' (London, 1995).
* Davies, Wendy. "The Myth of the Celtic Church", in ''The Early Church in Wales and the West'', Oxbow Monograph, no. 16, edited by Nancy Edwards and Alan Lane, 12-21. (Oxford: Oxbow, 1992).
* Dillard, John R. "The Celtic Apostolic Church - Brief History" (North Carolina, 2007).
* Dillard, John R. "The Celtic Apostolic Church - Church History" (North Carolina, 2005).
* Dillard, John R. "Purpose of Liturgical Worship" (North Carolina, 2005).
* Dillard, John R. "What is Celtic Christianity?" (North Carolina, 2007).
* Hughes, Kathleen. "The Celtic Church: Is This a Valid Concept?", ''O'Donnell lectures in Celtic Studies'', University of Oxford 1975 (published in ''Cambridge Medieval Celtic Studies'', 1 (1981), pp. 1-20.
* Hughes, Kathleen. ''The Church in Early English Society'' (London, 1966).
* Mayr-Harting, Henry. ''The Coming of Christianity to Anglo-Saxon England'', 3rd edition (London: B. T. Batsford Ltd, 1991).
* Sharpe, Richard Sharpe. ‘Some problems concerning the organization of the Church in early medieval Ireland’, ''Peritia'' 3 (1984).
* Wormald, Patrick. ''The Times of Bede: Studies in Early English Christian Society and its Historian'', ed. Stephen Baxter (Oxford: Blackwell Publishing, 2006).
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*[http://www.peran.org.uk The Fellowship of St Piran]
*[http://www.celtic-catholic-church.org Celtic Catholic Church]
*[http://www.saintandrewscelticchurch.org St. Andrew's Celtic Church]
*[http://www.csif.org.nz Community of Saint Ita and Saint Fillan - Auckland, NZ]
*[http://www.the-celtic-church-in-scotland.co.uk The Celtic Church in Scotland]
*[http://www.celtic-twilight.com/otherworld/saints/index.htm Celtic Saints & The Early Church]
[[Category:Ancient Christian denominations]]
[[Category:Celtic Christianity| ]]
[[Category:History of Christianity in the United Kingdom]]
[[de:Keltische Kirche]]
[[fr:Christianisme irlandais]]
[[it:Cristianesimo celtico]]
[[nl:Keltisch christendom]]
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[[pl:Celtycki Kościół Katolicki]]
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