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All
Saints of Ireland
This day's feast is not only a celebration of the great multitude of
Irish and Celtic Saints, many of whom were missionaries throughout
Europe, but is also a celebration of the many contributions of Celtic
culture to the world.
A number of centuries ago, a family from a Central European tribe met
with a tribe from the Carpathian mountains.
The result was the beginning of Celtic civilization, especially
with respect to the La Tene and Hallstadt cultures.
The "Keltoi" as the Greeks called them were described vividly
by Julius Caesar in Gaul. The
Iberian Peninsula was once called "Celtiberia." Macbeth, High King of Scots, on his way to Rome by
ship, visited these people and could carry on a conversation with them,
no problem!
The Celtic language of these people, "Galiz" from Galizia, has
survived and they are one of the seven nations of the Celts (the others
being: Irish, Highland
Scots, Manx, Cornish, Breton and Welsh).
Paris was named for the Celtic tribe that settled there, the
"Parisii." Notre
Dame Cathedral with its hanging heads calls to mind the way in which
Celtic warriors would celebrate a military victory . . .
Everything that had the prefix "Wal" in front of it was of
Celtic origin. "Wales"
and "Cornwall" and even "Wallachia" in Roumania.
Sevastopil in Crimea was originally built by the Celts who
settled there very early. "Walnuts"
are also named for the Celts who developed them.
St Peter Mohyla, Metropolitan of Kyiv, is also of Wallachian and
therefore Celtic, descent.
The Celtic Christian missionaries were intrepid travelers.
They would cross vast areas in their little boats known as
"birinns." Even
Christopher Columbus visited Ireland to read the log books of St Brendan
the Navigator who was said to have crossed over to the Eastern Coast of
what is now Canada. There
is evidence of early Christian settlements in Newfoundland and also in
Baffin Island!
Celtic missionaries came down through the Baltic Sea into Kyivan
Rus'Ukraine and St Olha the Great greeted Celtic men of God at her
court.
The Celtic Rite is actually one of the most "Eastern" of those
in the West. The Celts had
strong ties with Coptic Egypt and its tradition of the Thebaid through
the Ukrainian Saint, John Cassian.
There are still mentioned in Celtic liturgical sources a
veneration for "Seven Coptic Monks" buried in Ireland.
The Irish Rite has many connections to the Egyptian liturgy.
For example, following the Rule of St Pachomios, the Irish Celtic
Office has groups of 12 Psalms. So,
depending on the Feast, the Morning Office will have 12, 24, 36, 60 or
72 Psalms. In many cases,
the entire Psalter is read in a single day.
Prostrations to the ground, familiar in the East, were also
practiced by the Celts. It
was the Celts who invented the tradition of saying 150 Our Fathers and
Hail Mary's for the Psalms. They
devised strands of beads and knotted cords as prayer counters, the
Celtic Rosary.
The great asceticism of the Celtic saints is patterned after that
of the Eastern Church Fathers. Saying
the Psalter while standing in cold running water, among other things,
required a hardy sort of person . . .
The Celts had their own tonsure, the tonsure of Simon Magus, which was
in front of the head, rather than on top in the Roman fashion.
The Abbot, rather than the Bishop, was the administrator of the
Celtic communities, built around the monasteries or "cashels"
as they were. Their
calculaton of Easter was their own and varied from that of the rest of
the Church at the time.
The Celts inherited much from their druidic ancestors.
Like the Eastern Slavs, they worshipped the Sun.
After becoming Christian, the Sun symbol still figured
prominently in their Christian faith.
St Ninian of Galloway in Scotland and St Colum mac Felim O'Neill
of Isle of Hy (Iona) and their missionary companions worshipped within
stone circles and adapted other Sun imagery in their Christianized
traditions.
The haloed Celtic Cross is also popular in Ukraine. There is one marking
the grave of Taras Shevchenko, the national poet and bard.
It refers to the fact that Christ is our "Sun."
It is also said to be a Celtic form of the "Chi Rho" or
"XP" Greek symbol for the first two letters of Christ's Name,
also called the "Cross of St Constantine."
The term "Celtic," as some have argued, may be connected to
"Chaldea." It is
also a play on the monastic notion of "cell."
Another explanation is that it refers to the monastic Order of
the Celi De or the "Friends of God."
An English translation of the ancient Lorrha-Stowe Celtic Divine Liturgy
and Horologion is at: Celticchristianity.com.
Celtic spirituality is very popular these days.
Those who should probably know better are presenting it within a
type of "New Age" context.
Closeness to animals and nature are also stimulants to interest
in this version of "Celtic spirituality."
In fact, while Celtic monks and nuns lived very simply, their asceticism
runs in the face of modern, easy-going spiritual orientations.
Their lives were rather exhausting.
In addition to daily Divine Liturgy and their Horologion, they
recited the full 150 Psalms of David.
One could always rest in the after-life, the old Irish spiritual
teachers said . . .
During the Irish Penal Times when it was against the law to be Catholic
and a priest, Irish priests would roam the countryside incognito, just
like during the Roman times of persecution.
Irish families would like candles in their windows as a sign that this
was where the priests could receive a meal and shelter for the night.
When Cromwell's Puritan soldiers asked the people what the
candles signified, the people said they were "lighting the way of
Mary and Joseph to Bethlehem."
This interpretation has remained and is why, today, so many homes are
decorated with Christmas lights!
The mistletoe is a Druidic tradition.
To this day, the Anglican Canon of Yorkminster puts on
"ceremonial gloves" (also a Druidic tradition) and brings in a
bunch of mistletoe which he then places on a side table in the
Cathedral. The Church
generally banned the use of mistletoe because of its strong Druidic
associations, except at York, however.
This is also why people kiss and hug under the mistletoe.
One cannot be angry in its presence, owing to its sacral
character . . .
The Celtic Thebaid was a school for Saints and it is this great Choir
that we celebrate today. We
are heirs to the rich Celtic Christian culture they produced. The Celtic missionaries were experts at spreading the Gospel
and inculturating it with local traditions which they
"baptized" as they said.
This is why Celtic Christianity became so deeply rooted among the Celtic
peoples. Presbyterianism,
although Protestant, sees itself as an heir to this tradition as well.
Certainly, the Celtic nations had long harboured resentment
towards Rome for imposing its Rite on their ancient ways.
There is renewed interest in the Celtic Rite today among Orthodox, Roman
Catholics and Anglicans. Some
groups have started studying and following the Celi De traditions.
One could make the argument that Celtic traditions have never
died out amongst the Laity, which is certainly true.
What characterizes the Celtic Rite is its focus on the worship of the
Holy Trinity, its spirit of simplicity and asceticism, devotion to the
Psalms, the Horologion and the reading of the Gospel, a positive
relationship to God's creation in nature, and community in monastic
life.
The ancient Celtic Rite exemplifies the spiritual richness of the
undivided Orthodox Catholic and Apostolic Church of Christ.
A missionary Church, the Celtic Rite was practiced throughout
Western Europe at one time, reaching out to the shores of North America
itself.
The Saints of Eire and all Celtic Saints remind us of our calling to
preach Christ to all nations, while inculturating the Gospel in every
national tradition.
All ye Holy Saints of Eire and the Celtic nations, pray unto God for us! |
