St Ethernan, Vikings, and the decline of the Celtic church

Celtic Advent December 3rd
St. Ethernan

    St Ethernan was a Scottish saint from the 9th Century, also known as St. Adrian.  After being sent to Ireland for his education, he appears to have alternated between times of church building and times as a solitary hermit.  He is associated with the Island of May which is about 5 miles out into the Firth of Forth in Northeast Scotland.  In 875 AD the Island and much of surrounding mainland fell to Viking marauders.  It was said that as many as 6,000 monastics, including Ethernan, were killed and placed in a huge burial cairn on the island.  Interest in Ethernan was rekindled in the 12th century when a new monastery was started with a shrine to Ethernan.  This monastery was also levelled during the constant border wars between England and Scotland during which time the possession of the island became a cause for Scottish pride.  Pilgrimages to the island became common until the time of Scottish reformation.

    The great Celtic Christian religious period began in the 400's and reached a peak in mid to late 600's.  In addition to the incursion of Roman based Christianity after the Synod of Whitby (see the post about St. Hilda from 11/17), the other major threat was the beginning of the Viking period, which began in the 800's.  Attracted by the gold and silver vessels of churches and the general lack of resistance on the part of monastics, the Vikings devasted the churches in Scotland, Ireland, Brittany, the Isle of Man, Wales and Cornwall...as well as England.  The Celtic church continued for a time in Ireland but gradually diminshed and then disappeared after about 1100 AD.  

     There is a marvelous cartoon movie about this period called "The Secret of Kells."  It also outlines a purported history of one of major examples of Celtic Monastic art, the Book of Kells, currently housed at Trinity College in Dublin.   The movie depicts the ever increasing threat of the Northmen and the church's attempts to protect itself and it's treasures.

     When I read about things like the violent destruction of the Celtic church by the Vikings, I have a reaction that is similar to my reaction to things like the holocaust:  "why?," or "how could God let this happen to these people."  Obviously there is no response to this beyond faith.  One can speculate with things like, " if the church hadn't started building up wealth, but kept a simple lifestyle, then the Vikings would have passed them by."  But, obviously that is only speculation.

    There was an resurgence in interest in Celtic Christianity in the last 1800's which has literally exploded in the last 20 years across denominational lines. There are at least 2  major neomonastic groups devoted to Celtic Christianity, and the number of books and devotionals continues to increase. Would this been possible if Celtic Christianity had continued as a main stream religious denomination?  Maybe now is the time we need the infusion of the Celtic spirit, a form a renewal for the church.  Obviously I am attracted personally to so many of the aspects of the Celtic Christian movement.   I can only hope that others can experience the same sense of awe that I do when encounter Celtic spirituality.

    Lord, I often do not comprehend your work in human history, particularly when there is death and suffering.  The violent deaths during the end of the Celtic Christian period is one of these times.  Help me to have faith in your ultimate plan, and help me to keep alive what these ancient  Celts accomplished through devotion and study.  In thy name, Amen.