Celtic Christian spirituality: Intimations of the future

Spiritual Life, Fall 1999 by Sellner, Edwards C

OVER A CENTURY AGO, IN 1893, the Irish poet, W.B. Yeats, published a short reflective book entitled, The Celtic Twilight, in which he described something of the vision, beliefs, and spirituality of a largely forgotten people, living on the edge of Europe's mainland. With a note of sadness, he wrote of what seemed to be a lost past, and of a "Celtic longing for infinite things the world has never seen."' What motivated him, of course, as is evident to anyone who reads between the lines, was his hunger for that spiritual tradition's recovery.

Considering recent developments here in the United States, as well as in Ireland and Britain, it is clear that Yeats's "twilight" has more of the liminal condition of a "dawn" as more people, Celtic and otherwise, have begun to appreciate the spirituality that Yeats articulated and defended. This contemporary appreciation is reflected in popular movies and shows, such as "Braveheart," "River Dance," and "Lord of the Dance"; in the music of Enya, the Chieftains, and Loreena McKennitt; in the large number of books being published on the subject for scholarly and lay audiences alike.

In the following article, I want to explore some of the history of the Early Celtic Church and characteristics of its spirituality. By briefly looking back, I believe that we can gain intimations of the future, a type of ecclesiology and spirituality that can draw many Christians together, as it does already, beyond historical differences, dogmas, and theological views. Like the "thin places" of Celtic lands where people have experienced firsthand only a very thin "divide" between past and present and future times, I want to take a quick look back in order to offer a glimpse of where that Celtic spiritual heritage may be leading us.

The Early Celtic Church and Its Spirituality

The Early Celtic Church was made up primarily of numerous small monastic communities in rural areas of what we now call Ireland, England, Scotland, Wales, Brittany, and the Isle of Man. It was one of Christianity's most ancient and creative churches. Although not at all cut off from nor in opposition to the churches developing on the continent of Europe which were more urban and centralized, this Early Celtic Church still existed quite independently of Rome from the fifth through the twelfth centuries. It was never united administratively, and some scholars, operating out of a largely hierarchical model of church, have denied its existence, presupposing, it seems, that only unless churches are united through administrative structures do they constitute an ecclesial entity. Others believe that the Celtic Church's monastic emphasis, its common stories, heroic figures, art, music, and great appreciation of landscape, friendship, and kinship ties provided ecclesial unity in a fundamental way.2

That which definitely made the Celtic Church unique was its embracing of so many of the values and beliefs of the Celtic pagan culture which had preceded the arrival of Christianity. Celtic people are profoundly conservative. In the best sense of the word, they always seek to maintain connections with the past. Honoring and integrating the two spiritual traditions of their ancestors-pagan and Christian-into a new synthesis, the Celts created a form of Christianity that came to be associated with particular qualities grounded in their awareness and celebration of the sacred, that is, in their spirituality.

Nature

The first characteristic of this spirituality that typified early Celtic Christians was their outright mystical connection with nature, seeing their daily lives and work united with the natural landscape and the changing seasons. The Celts, before the coming of Christianity, believed that the divine pervaded every aspect of life, and that spirits were everywhere-in ancient trees and sacred groves, mountaintops and rock formations, rivers, streams, and holy wells. The earth was regarded as the source of all fertility, and the great forces of nature (moon, ocean, sun, and wind) were worshipped as manifestations of the divine. The early Celts especially loved the brightness of the full moon, reflected on new-fallen snow or in the waters of lake, river, or ocean. They also had a great devotion to the sun, and the later Christian high crosses with their circular arcs of stone were designed to include this earlier sunworship. Certain attributes of the Celtic sun god, Lug, as well as other pagan heroes were eventually associated with the Christian heroes, the saints. Patrick, according to one of the oldest hagiographies, has a bright halo about his head, like CuChulain, the greatest of Irish warriors, and fingers of fire that glowed like torches to light the night.' In the "Life of Brigit" from the Book of Lismore, Brigit's soul is said to have been "like a sun in the heavenly kingdom among the choir of angels and archangels."4

The Celts, living so close to bodies of water with their dreamlike fogs and mists, also developed a respect for the mystical. They came to associate water itself with mystery and with personal and communal transformation. Goddesses and healing powers were identified with lakes, springs, and holy wells, and, later, the Celtic saints were portrayed in the hagiographies as praying, with their arms outstretched, in the frigid waters of lakes or oceans. It is no wonder that references to the elements of wind, storm, rain, and snow, as well as the glorious beauty and warmth of sunlight (when it finally appears!) are found in the stories of the saints, and that the Christian God was named "Lord of the Elements," "King of the Stars," and "Lord of the Cloudy Heavens," among other titles of endearment.5 The Celts, both pagan and Christian, had a profound respect for the earth and the natural rhythms of body and soul, precisely because they did not see themselves as "lords" over creation, but spiritually, emotionally, and intellectually connected with it.