Buffy's Salon

History of Christianity in England: Celtic Christianity

 

When the Romans left in AD407 Britain fell into what came to be known as the Dark Ages.  Many of the bustling Roman towns were now abandoned and technological advances as basic as writing and coinage disappeared from the countryside and all but the biggest towns.  Christianity survived in isolated pockets and, of course, there was still much paganism. 

The story was rather different across the sea in Ireland, which had never been part of the Roman Empire.  Christian missionaries arrived there when the Empire was in its last gasps and the Faith they brought took off and flourished as Celtic Christianity.  This was not the same as Roman Christianity: it originated from the desert fathers of Egypt and Syria and the emphasis was on mysticism and austerity.  Think of the prophets in the Bible experiencing God in the desert or on the mountains.  Whole communities would grow up round the Irish hermits and this is the beginnings of monasteries. 

By now England was practically a pagan country again, having been invaded and settled by the Anglo Saxons.  Missionaries were sent out from Ireland back to Britain.  These Irish evangelist monks called themselves  "Peregrinari Pro Christ" (pilgrims for Christ). The meaning of peregrine being "a wanderer".  Thanks to these wandering pilgrims Celtic Christianity flourished in the west and north, whilst the Anglo Saxon pagan gods continued to held sway down the  south and east.  We don't know much about this pagan religion because the people were not really literate.  However in Sutton Hoo they buried their King in his ship and with many treasures.  It appears that their religion had strong military overtones and that they believed their buried king in his ship continued to protect the land of his people.

This was a very different religion to Celtic Christianity, based on a gospel of peace.  Perhaps it reached its peak in the seventh century when the King of Northumbria (in the extreme north of England) was baptised by Celtic Christian monks from the isle of Iona.  Bamburgh was his capital and he invited the monks to set up a monastery on Lindisfarne (or Holy Island) as the Christian centre of his kingdom.  (See photos from my trip to Bamburgh and Lindisfarne.)  Even today Holy Island has that air of austerity and mystery so central to Celtic Christianity: the causeway is cut off at certain times by the tide and often wreathed in mists.  Holy Island became a place of Christian worship, prayer and study, with missionaries crossing the causeway to the mainland to spread the gospel and pilgrims crossing over to the island.  Today many people go to Holy Island on retreats; it still has a spiritual feel.

 
The crossing from Holy Island at low tide from To be a Pilgrim

The hero of Lindisfarne was St Cuthbert, depicted in the picture on top of this post.  An ex soldier who went on to become a brilliant preacher and bishop, and then a hermit who lived an austere life on one of the little Farne islands.

Northumbria was also the heart of a revival of art and literature, a kind of fusion of Roman, Celtic Christianity and Anglo Saxon influences which gave us works such as the Lindisfarne Gospels.

A Celtic Prayer

I would welcome the poor and honour them. I would welcome the sick in the presence of angels and ask God to bless and embrace us all.

Seeing a stranger approach I would put food in the eating place, drink in the drinking place, music in the listening place, and look with joy for the blessing of God, who often comes to my home in the blessing of a stranger

We call upon the sacred Three to save, shield and surround the house, the home, this day, this night, and every night.

In the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Read more about Celtic Christianity.

 

When the Romans left in AD407 Britain fell into what came to be known as the Dark Ages.  Many of the bustling Roman towns were now abandoned and technological advances as basic as writing and coinage disappeared from the countryside and all but the biggest towns.  Christianity survived in isolated pockets and, of course, there was still much paganism. 

The story was rather different across the sea in Ireland, which had never been part of the Roman Empire.  Christian missionaries arrived there when the Empire was in its last gasps and the Faith they brought took off and flourished as Celtic Christianity.  This was not the same as Roman Christianity: it originated from the desert fathers of Egypt and Syria and the emphasis was on mysticism and austerity.  Think of the prophets in the Bible experiencing God in the desert or on the mountains.  Whole communities would grow up round the Irish hermits and this is the beginnings of monasteries. 

By now England was practically a pagan country again, having been invaded and settled by the Anglo Saxons.  Missionaries were sent out from Ireland back to Britain.  These Irish evangelist monks called themselves  "Peregrinari Pro Christ" (pilgrims for Christ). The meaning of peregrine being "a wanderer".  Thanks to these wandering pilgrims Celtic Christianity flourished in the west and north, whilst the Anglo Saxon pagan gods continued to held sway down the  south and east.  We don't know much about this pagan religion because the people were not really literate.  However in Sutton Hoo they buried their King in his ship and with many treasures.  It appears that their religion had strong military overtones and that they believed their buried king in his ship continued to protect the land of his people.

This was a very different religion to Celtic Christianity, based on a gospel of peace.  Perhaps it reached its peak in the seventh century when the King of Northumbria (in the extreme north of England) was baptised by Celtic Christian monks from the isle of Iona.  Bamburgh was his capital and he invited the monks to set up a monastery on Lindisfarne (or Holy Island) as the Christian centre of his kingdom.  (See photos from my trip to Bamburgh and Lindisfarne.)  Even today Holy Island has that air of austerity and mystery so central to Celtic Christianity: the causeway is cut off at certain times by the tide and often wreathed in mists.  Holy Island became a place of Christian worship, prayer and study, with missionaries crossing the causeway to the mainland to spread the gospel and pilgrims crossing over to the island.  Today many people go to Holy Island on retreats; it still has a spiritual feel.

 
The crossing from Holy Island at low tide from To be a Pilgrim

The hero of Lindisfarne was St Cuthbert, depicted in the picture on top of this post.  An ex soldier who went on to become a brilliant preacher and bishop, and then a hermit who lived an austere life on one of the little Farne islands.

Northumbria was also the heart of a revival of art and literature, a kind of fusion of Roman, Celtic Christianity and Anglo Saxon influences which gave us works such as the Lindisfarne Gospels.

A Celtic Prayer

I would welcome the poor and honour them. I would welcome the sick in the presence of angels and ask God to bless and embrace us all.

Seeing a stranger approach I would put food in the eating place, drink in the drinking place, music in the listening place, and look with joy for the blessing of God, who often comes to my home in the blessing of a stranger

We call upon the sacred Three to save, shield and surround the house, the home, this day, this night, and every night.

In the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Read more about Celtic Christianity.

History of Christianity in England: Roman Britain

 

Lullingstone Chi Rhos

Imagine Britain before the Romans arrived and before artisans, traders and missionaries brought Christianity to her shores.  Since 500 BC various Celtic tribes had lived and fought during the era we call the Iron Age.  When they weren't at war with each other, the people were farmers.  Traditions were oral, people lived in mud huts in hamlets and children were farmed out to be raised by other families.  The power in the land was held by the Druids.  The Celts were a tough and barbaric bunch who horrified the Romans (and with what the Romans got up to that took some doing).  They loved fighting (and that includes the women), sacrificed humans and liked to cut off the heads of people they had killed in battle and keep them because they thought the power of that person would then pass to them.

Once the Romans arrived at this, their furthest frontier, everything changed.  After several attempts, they succeeded in conquering the Celts between about AD43 and AD63.  The technological, social, administrative and military changes that the Romans brought revolutionised life in England, or Britannia as they called it.  And of course the people of Briton, both the natives and the ones sent by the Romans to settle there, became exposed to the Roman's brand of pagan beliefs. 

Roman Army of Julius Caesar Landing in Britain, c.55 A.D

We don't know exactly when the first Christian missionary arrived in England (unless the stories about Joseph of Arimathea are true), but at the same time as the Roman occupation revolutionised Britain there was another quieter and more subtle influence in the form of the Christian message which slowly gained a foothold in these isles. 

The Romans aggressively stamped out Druidism, but Christianity still had to compete with the Roman pagan religion and for a long time it looked like it would remain a minority cult (which is certainly how the Romans viewed it to start with).

During the greater part of the Roman occupation, Christians were persecuted by the Romans.  Why were the Romans intolerant of Christianity?  Christians refused to accept that Roman gods or the Roman Emperor could take precedence over Christ and his teachings.  Consequently Christians had to meet and worship in secret.  Ironically it was the spread of the pagan Roman Empire throughout so many countries that enabled one religion, Christianity, born in the Mediterranean, to become a universal religion.  The Roman infrastructure made it so much easier for the message to spread around the known world.

By the third century a sizable number of people across the whole strata of British society had converted to Christianity.  Many were drawn by the idea of a close relationship with a single God rather than the impersonal and uncaring Roman gods. Christian leaders were called Bishops.  At first they were chosen by the community, then by the clergy; in other words a hierarchy of sorts was being built up outside of the Roman government.  This naturally infuriated the Romans who stepped up the persecution. 

The first British Christian martyr was St Alban who converted to Christianity and was subsequently executed in the third century.  A third century manuscript explains:

"Alban received a fugitive cleric and put on his garment and his cloak that he was wearing and delivered himself up to be killed instead of the priest.... and was delivered immediately to the evil Caesar Severus."

When told he would be executed for the deception unless he would sacrifice to the pagan gods, Alban declared:

"I worship and adore the true and living God who created all things."  

In AD313 Christianity had grown too big for anyone to think it could be squashed any more and the Roman Emperor granted official tolerance for its followers. In AD314 bishops were sent from London, York and Colchester to a Council of the Church in France, suggesting that Christianity now had a substantial following in Britain.

The picture at the top of the post shows the decorated pavement from a villa in Lullingstone from the early fourth century.  The mosaic depicts a rather Roman looking Christ , with the two Greek letters behind his head the key to his identity as Chir Rho.  This villa has earlier depictions of pagan gods and a later church was added, illustrating the movement of this family over the generations from worshiping the Roman pagan gods to Christianity.

In AD407 the Romans left; the crumbling empire no longer able to sustain a presence here.  England entered the Dark Ages. 

Maundy Thursday

Maundy Thursday passes by almost unnoticed in the UK these days, although the name Maundy originates in England and is a Protestant name for what Roman Catholics and the Eastern Orthodox Church call Holy Thursday.

There are different explanations for this name for the Thursday before Easter, when we remember Jesus washing the disciples feet, the Last Supper and the establishment of the Eucharist, and the agony and betrayal of Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane.  The most commonly accepted explanation is that it is derived from the old English Mande (pronounced Maundy) meaning commandment.  During their last evening together before the Crucifixion, Jesus said "I give you a new commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you."

Over the years in England it became the tradition for the monarch to give alms to the elderly on Maundy Thursday.  At first only pensioners of the same gender as the monarch received coins, but in the 1700s this was changed to equal numbers of men and women as the monarch has lived years (83 this year!).  The giving of Maundy money is still done today, although another tradition, of the monarch washing the feet of the poor, ceased some time ago!

Many churches hold a gathering for the Eucharist on the evening of Maundy Thursday and some have their own traditions, two of which might be the pastor washing the feet of his flock or "stripping the altar" i.e. the congregation remove the altar decorations and coverings to symbolise the humiliation and abandonment of Jesus following his arrest, and also the clear the way for the new life that comes with the resurrection.  Some congregations will sit and eat a simple meal together after the service.

Unlike Good Friday and Easter Monday, Maundy Thursday is not a bank holiday in the UK and it's easy for it to pass by almost unnoticed as we go about our daily work.  This is pretty much what happened to me until bedtime when, courtesy of an article in the Radio Times, I read an article by Waldemar Januszczak about Caravaggio's The Taking of the Christ, which you can see at the top of this post.

We are in the garden of Gethsemane on the night before the Crucifixion.  Jesus is being arrested.  Tomorrow he will die....torches are flickering.  Everybody is moving.  Something important is happening.  But the fact that Judas is betraying Jesus with a kiss is, initially, almost incidental.  The first impression is of chaos, violence and action.  Identifying the various characters in the scene is by no means straightforward.  The chaotic mood that Caravaggio is deliberately creating is so successfully evoked that even the identity of Jesus himself is not initially obvious...Caravaggio is making you work things out.  He is deliberately involving you in the action.

The bearded figure on the far right, holding a lantern, is a self-portrait.  Why would Caravaggio place himself at the scene?  For two reasons.  One is to vouch for the authenticity of the picture.  I was there.  This is what happened.  But by being there, Caravaggio is also taking a personal share of the blame for Christ's arrest.  He was there, but did nothing to stop it.  That, of course, is the essence of the Christian message at Easter.  All of us let down Christ.  He died to save us.

Journey through Lent

Celtic Cross: Create in Me

Lent has been part of the Christian church's calendar since the fourth century, beginning on Ash Wednesday and concluding the Saturday before Easter.  It lasts 40 days (excluding Sundays) to echo the 40 days that Jesus spent in the wilderness.  Traditionally this period was a time of preparation for Easter, rather like Advent is in preparation for Christmas.  It has long been associated with prayer, alms-giving and fasting.  The most enduring tradition these days, at least for Anglicans, has been to give something up for Lent, for example chocolate, alcohol or meat.

Note: Lent is remembered by the Anglican church and for Protestants generally the observation of Lent is considered to be a personal choice, and not an obligation.

Why is Lent a Journey?  Because it takes us from what we Brits call Pancake Day (the day before Ash Wednesday) through Mothering Sunday, Palm Sunday, and Holy Week.  In a country that has become very secular like Britain, many of the centuries-old traditions associated with these holy days are still continued.  However, this period offers an opportunity to the more profound thinkers among us for a little self-examination, repentance and, hopefully, renewed faith and spirituality.

Of course Lent has already started, but someone recently directed me towards Tearfund's Carbon Fast and I thought it was an excellent idea to pass on.  Tearfund is a Christian charity particularly dedicated to overcoming global poverty.  The Tearfund carbon fast aims to encourage you to cut your carbon usage with a different idea every day.  At the very least you should learn to what extent we in the developed world are dependent  on modern conveniences such as electricity, running water, supermarkets etc.

Meanwhile this year the Church of England is encouraging everyone to undertake a simple act of generosityevery day of Lent, perhaps a return to the alms-giving tradition of yesteryear.  On the other hand, the Methodist Church looks for increased simplicity and reflection.

 

History of Christianity in England: Joseph of Arimathea

Joseph of Arimathea Preaching to the Inhabitants of Britain

Legend has it that the first person to bring the Gospel to England was Joseph of Arimathea.  The story goes that he had been preaching in Gaul with the apostle Philip who sent him, with twelve disciplines, on to England.  He founded British Christianity and built the very first church, in Glastonbury.  (Another French legend credits Joseph of Arimathea with taking the Holy Grail to England.)  The Abbey at Glastonbury still claims to be the oldest above-ground Christian church in the world.

Allegedly he was a metal merchant who came to Cornwall to buy tin.  The story that he was in fact related to Jesus probably springs from the fact that, according to the Gospels, he took responsibility for the burial of Jesus' body.  It is even said that he visited England with Jesus when the latter was in his teens and this legend inspired the William Blake poem, well-known as the hymn "Jerusalem".

And did those feet in ancient time
Walk upon England's mountains green?
And was the holy Lamb of God
On England's pleasant pastures seen?
And did the countenance divine
Shine forth upon our clouded hills?
And was Jerusalem builded here
Among those dark satanic mills?

If this is true it means that England was one of the very first countries to embrace Christianity, certainly before Rome.  Alas, historians have found no writings about Joseph of Arimathea in England dating before the ninth century.  This lack of proof did not stop Elizabeth I from using Joseph's missionary work to show that the Church of England pre-dated the Roman Catholic church.  In 1559 she wrote:

This author testifieth Joseph of Arimathea to be the first preacher of the word of God within our realms. Long after that, when Austin came from Rome, this our realm had bishops and priests therein, as is well known to the learned of our realm by woeful experience, how your church entered therein by blood; they being martyrs for Christ and put to death because they denied Rome's usurped authority.

Mothering Sunday

Sunday 2 March was Mothering Sunday in the UK aka Mother's Day.

Most people have forgotten that Mothering Sunday is part of the Christian calendar and it takes place on the fourth Sunday of Lent.  On this day people returned to their 'mother church' for a service, often a Cathedral.  This meant that it was one of the few times in the year when the whole extended family could gather together.  The usual theme for this day's preaching was maternal love.  Traditionally Simnel cakes were baked to celebrate the reuniting of the family during the fasting period of Lent, so this day was also known as Simnel Sunday.

A rather sweet tradition was for the congregation to form a circle round their church and embrace it, this was called "church clipping".

Perhaps it was the tradition of the family all gathering together on Mothering Sunday which lead to servant girls and apprentice boys being allowed the day off to visit their families and help out their mothers in later years.  (In those days children of working class families would leave home to work at the age of about ten.)  Traditionally they would take a Simnel cake or a posy of flowers picked from the meadows as they walked as a gift.  This was at a time when most people had big families, so it would be a helpful break for the mother to have her older daughters and sons back home for a day so she could put her feet up and relax for once!

Today Mothering Sunday is a chance to say thank you to our mothers and express our love for all they have done for us.  Most church services reflect this and give the children a few flowers to pass to their mothers as a 'thank you'. 

The Telegraph have printed some excerpts from letters that people sent in about their mothers.  They are worth reading; some of them are funny, some inspiring and some very moving.   One lady writes: Too late, with children of our own, we look back and understand our mothers. The generations touch but briefly, like interlocking cogs, before the older moves on out of reach, however much we stretch out our arms.