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Poetic & Creative

St Patrick’s Breastplate

Jesus the salmon – wisdom and prophecy and sacrifice

Re-telling of the Christian story in local myths

create... something both Christian and Contextually Relevant

Power Encounters

There was an expectation of the miraculous

Healing, Miracles, Dreams, Visions etc.

Resonates with 21st Century Charismatic Christianity

See Bede’s account of Cuthbert & Columba

Believing but not Belonging (Grace Davie 1994 )

The Celtic model reflects the adage that for most people, 'Christianity is more caught than taught!'

As Professor Robin Gill observes 'belonging comes before believing'. For this reason, evangelism is now about "helping people to belong so that they can believe".

Celts & Druids

  • No records, only how Romans saw them
  • Romans disdained their Human Sacrifice
  • Healers, prophets and philosophers, wisdom figures
  • Most probably Celtic monks based their approach on the druids

Structure of Celtic church

  • Around 450 - structure in Irish church changes. From Diocese, Bishop and priests there is a shift to Abbot, Abbey and Monks– the missionary monastery.
  • Celtic church mirrors the regional structures of society –no centre such as Rome with hierarchy. Regional Bishops appointed regionally with abbeys and abbots.
  • Roman church is very weak but has a semblance of hierarchy – the Benedictines or Roman church models itself on its Roman background.
  • There was no overarching Celtic church and structure – in some ways we cannot compare Roman and Celtic structures - overlap.
  • All monks and Bishops would all see the pope as the head of the church. Certainly at the beginning there is little evidence of competition between the 2 approaches – the 2 approaches were mixed and synonymous and gradually found differences.

Celtic Ecclesiology

The Celts

  • Relied on Abbotts or Abbesses
  • Abbotts were often royalty
  • Abbotts, often the bishop in charge of the community
  • Entrepreneurial – leaders did not just inherit role, they proved themselves.
  • Semi-mobile and flexible – ‘constantly on the move’

Wandering Groups

Hermits

Forget the big monastery - a collection of huts outside a town

Role to care for and evangelise the area and its people.

Fraternizing relating to local people with an ‘alternative way of life’ (Moynagh 2012)

  • Populated Britain, before, during and after Romans
  • Collection of tribes, warlords, fierce & warlike
  • Static tribes based on villages & forts
  • Pushed west in Britain by Angles and Saxons (500 – 800AD)
  • Eventually remained in Wales, Ireland and Brittany
  • Animistic religion with druids
  • Few writings: Roman Description
  • Not sure about government – small monarchies

St Patrick

Characters of The Celtic Mission

  • Primary Documents
  • 415 Patrick born in Roman Britain's northern frontier
  • Son of a churchman
  • 430/31 Irish slavers capture Patrick
  • Worked as herdsman
  • Faith grew in captivity – prayed daily
  • Dream ‘Soon go home, ship is ready’
  • 437 Patrick escapes, returning to Britain in the 440s
  • Somehow becomes a priest and trains
  • 460/61 Patrick arrives in Ireland as a bishop and missionary
  • Supposedly baptised thousands
  • 492/93 Patrick dies

Ireland SW Scotland & Wales – Ninian (400), Palladius(435), Patrick(470), Dyfrig (500)

Picts and Anglo -Saxons – Columba (597), Aidan (651).

Continent (Italy, France, Poland, Germany) - Columbanus (615)

'I saw a man coming, as it were from Ireland. His name was Victoricus, and he carried many letters, and he gave me one of them. I read the heading: "The Voice of the Irish". As I began the letter, I imagined in that moment that I heard the voice of those very people who were near the wood of Foclut, which is beside the western sea—and they cried out, as with one voice: "We appeal to you, holy servant boy, to come and walk among us.'

Academic Considerations

All the rage – Over 8000 titles in Amazon !

Nostalgia – current nationalism & anti-catholic

Overlaying of history & myth – Hagiography

Only 2 documents attributed to Patrick

Bowman comments that ‘it is important to grasp that there is no one authoritative, universally accepted version of ‘the truth’ about the Celts, past and present’, Bowman, M. (2002)

Patrick dates are the estimates of Liam de Paor (1993),

Saint Patrick's World from www.christianitytoday.com

Characteristics of The Celtic Mission

Monastery - Set up monastery outside village and relate

Constantly moving on and starting up – leave a community and move on.

Target leaders - They would target the leaders – if the leaders convert, then the people follow and their children as well. (This clashes with our understanding of individuals making their own minds up).

Culture Friendly – Local languages and adapted local folk tales opposed to the Benedictines (Romans) who prized Latin.

People Friendly – Whereas the Roman church saw the Celts as barbarians, Patrick saw them as people with value (Hunter 2004).

A Positive Outlook – Bradley argues that in ‘Patrick’s Breastplate’ he blesses everything. Parallel with Jewish blessings for almost everything. Today many Irish blessings are prevalent on bookmarks, tea-towels etc.

Pastoral – The Celtic approach had very detailed penitential’s – Hunter argues a caring approach to the perpetrator, about forgiveness and personal growth.

Religion Friendly – Instead of rejecting all religious imagery, The Celts ‘borrowed ‘images from the local religion to express and explain the Christian message. They built churches on sacred sites, used local stories, replaced heroes with biblical figures and re-interpreted symbols. Pope Gregory told Augustine to make use of the existing temples – ‘if they are in good state, cleanse them and use them’.

Vivid imagery of Evil & Death, everyday features of the culture. Celts saw evil as external and very real as opposed to Augustine (seeing it as part of the people).

They blurred the sacred and the secular – all things, places and objects could be holy. Life and work and spirituality mixed, church on Sunday was not the way. – less compartmentalised.

They were not intellectual – there were few Celtic theologians.

Peregrinati – Wanderers for Christ - So much they were reprimanded for wandering at the Synod of Hertford.

Penetentials – Manuals to diagnose and cure spiritual sin and malaise. Lots of abstinence and suffering to deal with sin. Seen as a form of restoration of right relationship instead of the predominant’ eye for and eye’ justice.

Conclusions

Using peoples’ own signs and symbols

Fraternizing

Relevance to the people with whom you are working

Presenting a recognisable alternative

Ability to re-produce and move

Belonging before you believe

Perseverance and tenacity

Risk-takers

Celtic Evangelism & Monasticism

Melissa Turner

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