Celtic Spirituality

[sandandfoam]

I recently read Philip Newell 'Listening for the Heartbeat of God, A Celtic Spirituality' (and I imagine I will be re-reading it for a long time). I am currently reading 'The Book of Creation, The practice of Celtic Spirituality' by the same author. These books have had a real influence on me.
I live near the birthplace of St. Brendan and there remains in the landscape here much of those early Christians - most of it in places like Skellig Michael where the presence of nature is overpowering. These monuments and places have always inspired awe in me but I previously made the mistake of identifying 'holy' places with churches and the like alone 'rather than the sanctuary of earth, sea and sky' that the celtic tradition acknowledged. This idea of nature as theophany really clicks with me.
Has anyone on this forum an interest in Celtic Christian Spirituality? If so I'd like to discuss views/concepts/reading.

 

[doppelganger]

Has anyone on this forum an interest in Celtic Christian Spirituality? If so I'd like to discuss views/concepts/reading.

I have an interest in it, but I've only barely explored it thus far. Too many interesting traditions . . . too little time. Do you consider Celtic Christianity to be part of the Anglican faith?

 

[sandandfoam]

I have an interest in it, but I've only barely explored it thus far. Too many interesting traditions . . . too little time.

Yeah, time can be a balls.

 

[sandandfoam]

I don't know has anyone the blindest bit of interest in this but I read 2 things today that really struck a note with me:-
"Scant regard is paid in the Celtic tradition of storytelling to any strict sequence of time and place. A freedom of imagination is used to weave together the whole of life, past and present, seen and unseen"..."It all speaks of an interweaving of worlds and worlds within worlds....Always there is an awareness of the untameable and unpredictable"

 

[sandandfoam]

Blast, hit enter by mistake.
The second thing is related it was:
"The Celtic traditions sense of the passion and wildness......point, however, to a dimension of spirituality that for the most part we have lost sight of, the wildness of God"

Finding this stuff is like coming home.

 

[gnomon]

I recently read Philip Newell 'Listening for the Heartbeat of God, A Celtic Spirituality' (and I imagine I will be re-reading it for a long time). I am currently reading 'The Book of Creation, The practice of Celtic Spirituality' by the same author. These books have had a real influence on me.
I live near the birthplace of St. Brendan and there remains in the landscape here much of those early Christians - most of it in places like Skellig Michael where the presence of nature is overpowering. These monuments and places have always inspired awe in me but I previously made the mistake of identifying 'holy' places with churches and the like alone 'rather than the sanctuary of earth, sea and sky' that the celtic tradition acknowledged. This idea of nature as theophany really clicks with me.
Has anyone on this forum an interest in Celtic Christian Spirituality? If so I'd like to discuss views/concepts/reading.

I do have an immense interest in this topic so I hope you can inform me. One fair warning. I look for objective historical texts as opposed to reconstructionist texts. In other words, I have read Celtic spirituality put forth as described by some as Fluffy bunnies and disregarded.

I can't explain my interest in Celtic tradition as beyond my own aesthetic interests but anything you have to offer is appreciated.

edit: I'm also interested, since you are Irish I presume, that you might have some knowledge on the Irish language and any folk stories.

 

[sandandfoam]

Do you consider Celtic Christianity to be part of the Anglican faith?

I think the Anglican faith is rooted in it. Certainly the Church of Ireland is.

 

[doppelganger]

I don't know has anyone the blindest bit of interest in this but I read 2 things today that really struck a note with me:-
"Scant regard is paid in the Celtic tradition of storytelling to any strict sequence of time and place. A freedom of imagination is used to weave together the whole of life, past and present, seen and unseen"..."It all speaks of an interweaving of worlds and worlds within worlds....Always there is an awareness of the untameable and unpredictable"

Have you seen John Sayles' file The Secret of Roan Inish? It uses these storytelling techniques.

 

[sandandfoam]

Have you seen John Sayles' file The Secret of Roan Inish? It uses these storytelling techniques.

No I haven't. I just googled it. It looks good, I'll see can I rent it at the weekend.

 

[sandandfoam]

I started reading Erugena's homily on the prologue to the Gospel Of St. John 'The Voice of the Eagle'
In it he says " Hear then, the divine and ineffable paradox-the unopenable secret, the invisible depth, the incomprehensible mystery! Through him, who was not made but begotten, all things were made but not begotten.
........
The substance of those things , which are made by him, began in him before all the ages of the world, not in time but with times. Time indeed, is made with all things that are made. It is neither made before them, nor is it preferable to them, but it is co-created with them."

 

[sandandfoam]

In the introduction to the above book Christopher Bamford redfers to the 8th Ecumenical Council of Constantinople (869C.E.) where it was decided to reduce the human from body soul and spirit to body and soul only which Bamford says meant that the "metaphysical definition of the human being in the West was crippled". The consequence of this he asserts was "literalism and abstraction."
Interesting stuff.

 

[Random]

In the introduction to the above book Christopher Bamford redfers to the 8th Ecumenical Council of Constantinople (869C.E.) where it was decided to reduce the human from body soul and spirit to body and soul only which Bamford says meant that the "metaphysical definition of the human being in the West was crippled". The consequence of this he asserts was "literalism and abstraction."
Interesting stuff.

It is, worth giving thought to. Do you think the Church Fathers found the Celtic Spirit particularly troublesome and difficult to Christianize?

 

[sandandfoam]

It is, worth giving thought to. Do you think the Church Fathers found the Celtic Spirit particularly troublesome and difficult to Christianize?

Yes I do. I imagine things like Columba referring to Christ as his druid really ticked them off. I think that the presence of a grey area rather than a dividing line between paganism and Christianity was hard for them to swallow. As was the role of women in the Celtic tradition and the perceived goodness of humanity, including human sexuality.
I'd love to have beeen a fly on the wall at the Synod of Whitby.

 

[kai]

historians do not employ the term “Celtic Church”, since that entails a sense of there being a unified and identifiable entity separated from greater Latin Christendom.

this is the problem you may find yourself looking for a long lost mythical church that didnt really exist as such but modern "celts" love to think so

Celtic Christianity - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

[sandandfoam]

historians do not employ the term “Celtic Church”, since that entails a sense of there being a unified and identifiable entity separated from greater Latin Christendom.

this is the problem you may find yourself looking for a long lost mythical church that didnt really exist as such but modern "celts" love to think so

Celtic Christianity - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

You are the first to use the term 'Celtic Church' on this thread. The lack of unity and identifiable entity that seperated the tradition of Columba, Eriugena, Patrick, Brigid and others from Latin Christendom is precisely what draws me to it. It is not about Dogma it's about figuring it out for yourself. That is why the emphasis of the tradition is on John who represents knowledge and contemplation rather than Peter who represents action and faith.
I refer to Celtic spirituality and the Celtic tradition. Part of what I find interesting about this tradition is the individuality of humanity it embraced, as Jean Markle writes "The essence of Celtic philosophy would appear to be a search for individual freedom, not based in any egoism, but founded in the belief that each person is special and therefore different from others, that behaviour cannot be modelled on a pattern created by others"
I have no interest in looking for a long lost mythical church. I am interested in the theology of the like of Pelagius, Eriugena and others.

 

[kai]

whats pelagious or Eriugena to do with "celtic" anything , other than being born in britain, is that the only link.

in fact whats "celtic" got to do with christianity. religion is all about figuring it out for yourself.

 

[sandandfoam]

whats pelagious or Eriugena to do with "celtic" anything , other than being born in britain, is that the only link

Where are you trying to go with this?
They are referred to by some as Celtic. In modern times we have a Celtic league in rugby. It relates to the areas the teams come from.
The point is?

 

[kai]

Where are you trying to go with this?
They are referred to by some as Celtic. In modern times we have a Celtic league in rugby. It relates to the areas the teams come from.
The point is?

yes i think i am on the wrong track, celtic spirituality was destroyed by the christians you would have a hard job finding anything authentic, of course there are celtic leagues in rugby etc but very little to do with celts , even italy had a large celtic population before rome overan it . but on with your discussion i am out of order here my missunderstanding.